Wordless Wednesday

Friendly Reminder:

 

Keep your alcohol away from your pumpkins

Winterize Your Skincare

Here in the Deep South we do not have to contend with harsh winter weather but no matter where you live, it is always a good idea to revamp your skincare routine when the colder weather hits so your complexion can face the season looking soft, smooth and healthy.

When taking a shower….

Save time, water, energy and your skin by stepping out of the shower sooner and dialing back the temperature a few degrees. Long, hot showers deplete skin of its natural oils.  If you strip away the body’s oil reserves, you have to apply more moisturizer to compensate. Using more moisturizer means you’re spending more money, so this simple step saves you money all the way around.

 

Pick up our Unbelievable Sugar Scrub with a natural oil and shea butter base to slough away dead skin cells without over-drying. Dry skin tends to build up and stick to the surface of the skin, which makes moisturizers less effective. Help speed up the shedding process by gently exfoliating skin two or three times a week.  Sugar dissolves quickly in water and is easier on your skin than salt, so you’re less likely to over-scrub.

 

If you’re not ready to try our Unbelievable Sugar Scrub, why not try our Scrumptiously Decadent Sugar Scrub Bar instead?  Our handcrafted sugar scrub bar has all the benefits of our Unbelievable Sugar Scrub in the convenience of luscious, creamy soap bar.

 

Use a body wash made with moisturizing ingredients. Our Refreshing Body Wash is made with vegetable glycerin which helps skin by aiding with moisture retention that is so vital to healthy skin. Be sure to pat your body dry when leaving the shower so as not to wipe away any more of the hydrating benefits of the body wash.

 

During the day…..

 

Don’t let the windy, dry conditions of winter make your lips look less than luscious. Exfoliate your lips with our newest product, Kissable~a sugar scrub for your lips created to gently exfoliate dull, dry skin.  Gently rub a small amount on your lips then wipe away with a warm washcloth.

 

After exfoliating, keep your lips protected by applying our Really Good Lip Balm. Apply the balm several times throughout the day to not only provide a coating that keeps in moisture and keeps out the drying environment, it should also keep you from licking your lips.  Lip licking makes them even drier because as your saliva evaporates, it wicks away any remaining moisture from your lips.

 

You will be hearing from us a lot during the holiday season so keep an eye out for more information regarding sales, new products for the holidays, and our creative gift baskets, perfect for holiday giving.

Sunday Drive Along River Road

Sunday I made a trip to the sugar mill at Alma Plantation (http://tinyurl.com/5lbfjc) to get my supply of sugar for our scrubs, scrub bars and lip exfoliator. I had no idea what would be in store as the sugar was delivered to us last year.

I walked into the brand new warehouse where they store the sugar and, OMGGG, it was awesome. The sugar was so fresh that it was still warm from the evaporation ovens. And the smell……….similar to sugar cookies baking in the oven but oh so much more of an intense molasses aroma-nothing like I’ve ever smelled before! Words cannot do justice to the experience.

So needless to say, we’ve been making all our sugar-based products this week to take advantage of the awesome freshness of the sugar. We’ll have them with us at the Chimes Street Arts Market this Friday and, as always, this yummy treat for your entire body is available on our website, www.handmadeathomestead.com

Two new fragrances just in time for holiday giving

We received several new fragrances last week but have only been able to test two of them and, if I may say so, they are unbelievable.

First up is our honey fragrance.  This is the most exact honey fragrance I’ve ever come across.  We’ve added it to our Velvety Goat Milk Soap and lovingly call it “Milk and Honey.”  Here’s the official write up of the fragrance:

Just imagine opening a jar of raw honey with a big chunk of honeycomb–this scent hits it dead on! A luscious nectar of sweet honey highlighted by a floral bouquet of rose, jasmine, and honeysuckle with a touch of creamy vanilla.

I’m tempted to try it in our new Hydrating Hand and Body Lotion but I’m afraid I’d attract bees.  Seriously, the fragrance is THAT dead on.

The second fragrance is a new men’s fragrance called Green Tweed.  Number one son loves it and believe me, that says it all.  From what I’ve researched, Cary Grant was a fan of this fragrance.  It’s great in our Velvety Goat Milk Soap, Silky Shea Butter Soap or our Refreshing Body Wash. 

Here’s what our residence fragrance-sniffer had to say about our Green Tweed: 

“An elegant, rich, sporty scent with notes of sandalwood, Florentine iris, herbaceous clover, French verbena, violet leaves and ambergris. It’s what a well-dressed man ought to smell like!”

Check back with our website because in addition to these new fragrances, we’ve added new product, too!

Where to find us in December

We just finalized our December schedule.  We will be at the Main Street Market in downtown Baton Rouge, corner of 5th and Main, on the following days:

Friday, December 5*
Saturday, December 6**
Thursday, December 11*
Friday, December 12*
Saturday, December 13**
Thursday, December 18*
Friday, December 19*
Saturday, December 20**

*Time:  10am-2pm
**Time   8am-1pm

MMMMMM Mustard Bath

For someone who has had a career in public relations, you would think it  would be easy for me to promote myself and my products. 

Alas, that is SO not true.

It’s not that I don’t believe in my products-if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be asking you to purchase them-but I just have a hard time with self-promotion.  This is, by the way, an area that I am working on and will also be a focus of one of my goals for 2009……

But today, I had an absolutely wonderful experience and I just had to let you know about it.  I have been suffering from a major sinus infection for going on a week now.  I’ve been sleeping for 10 to 12 hours a day and trying to fill orders when I’m up and have the energy to do so.  I’ve been tanking up on Olive Leaf extract and Olive Leaf nasal spray, faithfully using my NetiPot, drinking hot tea with honey, inhaling steam with Eucalyptus essential oil, etc., but I just couldn’t shake that down-to-the-marrow chill that I’ve had for the last few days. 

After getting my son out the door this morning, I decided that what I really needed was a good old hot bath to tackle the chills and help break up the head and chest congestion. On my way upstairs I grabbed a container of my English Mustard Bath. 

I ran the bath water at the hottest temperature I could handle, dissolved the contents of the Mustard Bath, and lowered myself into the water.   I soaked for a few minutes then got the idea to soak the washcloth in the hot water and placed it on my chest.  I stayed in the bath for nearly 20 minutes.

OH.MY.GOODNESS!!  I cannot tell you how much better I feel. It’s been nearly two hours since I exited the bath. I have no chills, my head is clear AND my head/chest congestion is breaking up (finally).

I will not be so bold as to say the Mustard Bath is responsible for all but I can’t deny what happened to me this morning and how good I feel at present.

I know you’re probably one of two things:  skeptical or curious.  Either way, I’d like you to try our English Mustard Bath* so our for our Happy Hour Special this Friday, I am offering 25 percent off on our 6 oz container.  This special will be for one day only and only available on our website Handmade at Homestead.

Don’t forget we have free shipping from now until December 16, when our store closes for the holidays.

*If you suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes or are pregnant, this product is not for you.

Happy, Simple New Year!

What does a self-sufficient sugar plantation and a restaurant that only sells fried chicken fingers have to do with the price of tea in China? Plenty.

I don’t mention the fact that we live on a sugar plantation often because, sadly, the term always brings to mind the atrocities of slavery. Sadder still is the presumption that our family owned other human beings. Truth is our ancestors acquired Homestead Plantation after the cessation of Civil War in 1863* and no one on either side of my husband’s or my families has ever owned a fellow human being.

Ok, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way…

Being a romantic and a history minor, I often reflect on what life was like when our ancestors lived here. It was a very uncomplicated and self-sufficient life: cow provided milk and butter, chickens provided meat and eggs, large vegetable garden in the back yard, cistern in the attic collected rainwater, etc. Being self-sufficient, I firmly believe, is how the family fared so well during the Great Depression and allowed them to share their bounty with those who were less fortunate.

The current state of our economy is a wake up call to all of us, whether we have invested in the stock market or have just a change jar in the kitchen cupboard. We are all being called back to a more simple life. We can go their willingly or we can have our circumstances force us to live a more simple life. I’m choosing to go there willingly!

My husband and I have set three goals for this year to help us become more self-sufficient, my like they did here in the “old days.” Absolutely NO cows and chickens in the yard but we will be re-establishing the vegetable garden. We are also looking into solar energy for some our outbuildings and are researching other ways we and our home can become more self sufficient. Won’t be easy with a 17-year old in the house but we are determined to make this happen!

My son, the 17-year old, works for a fast-growing nationwide restaurant company whose motto is “One Love.” The restaurant sells fried chicken fingers, french fries, toast and coleslaw and a secret dipping sauce for the chicken-that’s it-that’s all they offer. I have a friend who works in their corporate office and I asked her why they didn’t sell grilled chicken tenders like one of their competitors. She had two words for me:

“One Love.”

She went on to explain that their business model is to focus on one thing and one thing only, fried chicken tenders. By offering a select few items, everyone from the corporate big-wigs to the team members at each store are able to focus on quality and customer service, something that this company is known for and that sets their business apart.

I’ve decided to take a simplistic, “One Love” approach with my business from this point forward. This isn’t really a New Year’s resolution because I always break those. No, this is more an adjustment in my business plan and in my way of thinking.

I am an MP soaper. While many other MPers create wonderful works of art or fantastic whimsical pieces, my soap is quite simple but contains the finest ingredients and additives I can find. And, they each have a purpose. For instance, my Peppermint, Tea Tree, and Parsley soap (PTP) was created for my son and his bouts with acne. My Sugar Scrub Soap is for those that love the exfoliation properties of sugar but don’t care for the oils contained in my sugar scrub.

I will concentrate on a select number of offerings, make them with the finest ingredients available, and spend more of my time getting to know my customers. I’ve met some terrific people over the last year and I wouldn’t trade that for anything. This is what is known as relationship marketing but I look at it more as my calling to invest in the lives of others, even for a brief moment.

So, I am officially giving myself permission to NOT offer fish-in-a-bag soap, candles or room sprays. I will focus on a creating a select number of products and marketing them to the best of my ability. Taking this approach does not mean I ignore trends or cease using the latest technology to grow my business. This certainly does not mean I ignore the needs of my customers. What this does mean is that I heed the calling to a more simplified life, both personally and professionally, and I encourage all those I come in contact with to do the same.

*Civil War ended in 1863 in Louisiana.

Wordless Wednesday

It’s a dog’s life.

The Best Home Remedies May Be Sitting in Your Spice Cabinet

Part of the mission of Handmade at Homestead is to pass along information that can benefit you in your daily life. I came across some interesting information awhile back that I wanted to share. I do not advocate using any of these remedies without consulting your doctor first. That being said, I do believe that the good Lord put everything on this earth for a reason. 

And, if you do your pharmaceutical research, you will find that a great deal of the traditional medicine already on the market come directly from things found in nature.

The Best Home Remedies May Be Sitting in Your Spice Cabinet

What do you think?  Have you used any home remedies that have worked?  Do you have family remedies that have been passed down that are beneficial to you and your family?

Freshest Place in Baton Rouge

I have been peddling my wares at one of the most fun places to be on Saturday morning in Baton Rouge-The Red Stick Farmers’ Market and The Main Street Market.

In the coming days, I will be highlighting a few of the other vendors that I’ve gotten to know over the last year at the Market.  I thought this video would be a great way to introduce you to my friends!

Keep an eye out for  a couple sitting in chairs under a tree-that’s Elaine Vicknair and her husband of Vicknair Farms. They have the BEST Ponchatoula strawberries I’ve ever tasted.  Also, you’ll get a glimpse of  an older man in a yellow shirt with a pith helmet on-that’s Mr. Buddy from Plantation Pecans. He drives 6 hours round-trip each Saturday to participate in the market.

The Market is a very special place.  I think you will see that in the video!

Red Stick Farmers’ Market

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Save Handmade-Say No to CPSIA!

 

Today is CPSIA Blogging Day. Another big push to get the laws changed and prevent thousands of small business owners — artists and crafters making beautiful handmade items for children — from going under. Here is an excellent post by wife, mom, and small business owner, Sarah Jane, who has an excellent post on her blog detailing the situation and what you can do.

Here’s a short list of action items:
1) Find out more. Here or here are good places to start.

2) Make your voice heard. USE THE ACTION KIT made by etsy administration with sample letters that can be used to contact all the pertinent representatives.

3) Help spread the word! Put up a post today about CPSIA Blogging Day. Send an email to your friends. Tell your sister about it when she calls. Tweet your heart out about it.

So many small businesses across the US will be affected by this new law. In most of the cases, the testing fees required will put these micro-businesses in bankruptcy. Can you imagine a world without bazillions of awesome etsy shops? That’s a sad, sad picture.

Sayonara Salmonella! You, Too, Can Make Your Own Peanut Butter

With the scare of salmonella poisoning running rampant across the nation, many peanut butter addicts have gone cold turkey. Although the current recall does not affect commercial brands at this time, thousands of peanut butter lovers have sworn off one of America’s favorite foods “just in case.”

Are you suffering from peanut butter withdrawal?  Well, fear not, ye lover of all things P&B!  Even if you’re not a peanut butter-aholic, making your own peanut butter is quick and easy and, by and large, more nutritious than store-bought brands, so why not give it a try?

As you can see by the following recipes, your homemade peanut butter will not contain a preservative.  As is the case with all food made without preservatives, your homemade peanut butter will have a short shelf life. You will definitely have to keep it in the refrigerator and use up within a couple weeks. Or you may can it. To can your homemade peanut butter, fill a clean, mason canning jar full of the peanut butter, leaving about an inch of space at the top. Simmer at 180 degrees for one hour in a water bath container.

Do you have a favorite “make-your-own” recipe?  Let us know about it!

 

Easy Peanut Butter Recipes

 

Recipe 1:

  

Ingredients:

4 cups shelled roasted peanuts

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

 

Directions:

 

In a food processor, mix the peanuts, salt, sugar and oil for two minutes or until very smooth. 

Peanut butter may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two months or may be canned as directed above . Makes approximately 3 cups.

 

Recipe 2

 

Ingredients:

1 cup roasted, shelled peanuts

1 1/2 teaspoon peanut oil

1/4 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted peanuts)

 

Directions:

 

For creamy peanut butter: Place ingredients in a blender. Blend until mixture becomes spreadable-make sure lid of blender is secure before blending.  Stop the machine and use a rubber or silicon spatula to scrape mixture from the sides. Continue blending until desired consistency is reached.

 

For crunchy peanut butter: Stir in 1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts after the blending is complete.

 

Store in a tightly closed container in the refrigerator or can as directed above. Oil may rise to the top. If this occurs, stir before using.  Makes approximately 1 ½ cups.

Wordless Wednesday-how twins are made

Making Memories

Our family of three had a great time in New York last week-well, two out of the three of us had a great

My two men at Carnegie Deli

time.  Poor hubby suffered with a bad back and fever the week before we left but he was a trooper and joined us for our much needed vacation. Bless his heard, he ventured out with us for the two Broadway shows and dinner after, and accompanied us on a couple of other outings, including the cruise around Manhattan, something to which we all looked forward.

At the risk of sounding callous, though, I enjoyed having time alone with my son, my one and only child. It was just the two of us for the first eight years of his life and, as a result, we are extremely

Me and the boy at Empire St. Bldg.

close.  As it was when he was younger, so it was in New York-just the boy and me.

 

We made some very wonderful memories during the week. One day we visited the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island. We had some time while waiting for the next boat to Ellis Island so we grabbed lunch at the café near Lady Liberty.  Son ordered his favorite-chicken

Statue of Liberty pre-seagull attack

tenders and French fries. We thought it would be nice to eat outside.  As my son was looking for a table, a seagull started flying overhead and got lower and lower.  Next thing I knew, the seagull appeared to be landing on my son’s shoulder. Son freaked out, started yelling very loudly and threw the tray of chicken tenders/French fries down on the table.  He then watched stunned and helpless as the seagull flew off with two of his four chicken tenders.  And there I stood, watching my poor child get assaulted by a seagull, tears streaming down my face from laughing so hard.

 

By the way, we weren’t the only folks eating outside at the time. There were at least 30 tourists laughing hysterically, watching the scene unfold.  Needless to say, son was embarrassed but I told him he brought a lot of joy to those people that day. He took solace in thinking that the foreign tourists would return home to tell the story of the “funny American guy” who got attacked by a seagull at the Statue of Liberty.

 

Other memories abound:  being in-studio audience members on Good Morning America; first subway

Lego Batman FAO Schwarz

outing without hubby and son as navigator (worse for me than the first time he drove); showing him

how to haggle in Chinatown; watching him revert back to his childhood when we walked into FAO Schwarz; our walk, and subsequent discussions,

Nirvana-Hershey's Chocolate Store

through the Financial District and Ground Zero; our many late night outings to M&M World and the Hershey’s Chocolate store.

 

These may not seem like outstanding memories to you, but they are great ones for me. My son will be spreading his wings and leaving for college in just a little over a year.  I know the time for making memories with him is fleeting.  I have begun to cherish every minute I have left with him. In my heart, I know he cherishes these memories as well.

 

I would encourage you to take time to make memories with your loved ones.  It doesn’t matter if you’re single, married, have kids or not-there’s at least one special person in your life. Go out and make a memory or two with them-you’ll cherish those moments for a lifetime.

 

Our immigrant ancestors Ellis Island

Grocery shopping-not just for foodstuffs anymore!

Bet you didn’t know this but there are tons of great ingredients available in your neighborhood grocery store just waiting to be used for something other than cooking!  Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting a variety of bath and body care recipes made with common ingredients found at the grocery, many of which you most likely already have in your kitchen.

To start things off, I have two variations of an awesome coffee scrub. 

Hawaiian Coffee Scrub

For a decadent, renewing body scrub, blend ground Kona coffee, turbinado sugar, and coconut milk in a small plastic bowl. 

½ cup coffee grounds
1 cup sugar
¼ coconut milk

Apply to entire body in the shower, massaging in a circular motion and rinse away.  Sugar and coffee are exfoliants that will gently slough off dead skin cells, while caffeine naturally promotes circulation.  Coconut milk has oil-like properties that protect skin with a light barrier and help exfoliants wash away clean, leaving behind beautifully radiant skin.

Evangeline Coffee Scrub

Use your favorite coffee and chicory and pecan oil in place of Kona coffee and coconut milk in the above recipe. After exfoliating your skin, use a high quality, handmade soap (www.handmadeathomestead.com) to bathe. Use extra caution when using any type of oil in the shower or tub as the oil will make the tub surface slippery.

Website down for maintenance

Handmade at Homestead  website will be down for maintenance between the hours of 8pm on July 23 and 10am July 24.   Please contact us via either Facebook or Twitter

Dog Days of Summer Sale

We’ve all heard the infamous quote, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray,” right?

Well, it definitely true in our case. We were planning on holding  a “Christmas in July” sale like many other retailers; the month of July has flow by and alas, no sale.

Don’t worry, we are still having a sale.  From July 28 through August 3, 2009, Handmade at Homestead is having a Dog Days of Summer Sale featuring 10 percent off all of our fantastic handmade toiletries for bath and body.

Now is a great time to stock up on our our all natural soaps, lotions and body scrubs, along with many other of our customer favorites. 

If you haven’t tried our luxurious handmade toiletries, why not try us now and save in the process?

If you’re one of our fabulous regular customers, take advantage of our sale and grab a new fragrance or a product you’ve been dying to try.

Don’t let this opportunity go to the dogs! Head to our website, www.handmadeathomestead.com to take advantage of this fantastic chance to stock up and save!

Sale ends August 3.  Sale only applies to products listed under bath and body and does not include custom gifts or gift sets.

Beauty from the Garden-The Eyes Have It

I’ve been doing a lot of work around our home the last few weeks. As with any old home, I inhaled a lot of dust while I was working. Wouldn’t you know, the dust aggravated my allergies and  the next morning, I woke up with puffy eyes.

Cucumbers have long been known to sooth puffy eyes.  I have to admit, it took me a very long time to try this well-known remedy but I became hooked once I did.   It’s so easy, I can’t believe I didn’t try this sooner!

You’ll need about 1/8 cucumber that has been refrigerated.  Slice the cucumber to fit over your eyes. Two slices, one per eye, will suffice but I like to slice about 10 paper-thin slices and use several on each eye.  It doesn’t matter which you choose, both amounts work remarkable well. Spritz your eyes with water. Lying down, place cucumber slices on your eyes and leave in place for 10 minutes.

Here’s another great eye treatment that comes straight from the garden.  All you need is a potato that has been refrigerated  and a knife.  Here’s what you do:

Slice the potato to fit over your eyes. Just like the cucumber, you can use two slices, one per eye, or five to ten thin slices, several for each eye.  Spritz eyes with water, lie down and place the potato slices on your eyes and leave on for at least 10 minutes for best results.

These are two of the easiest “from the garden” puffy eye remedies I’ve found. Why don’t you give one, or both, a try?  I’d love to hear back from you once you do.

Wordless Wednesday

Sale Fail