A Giveaway and a Beautiful Blog!

Hi everybody! There's a giveaway going on over at Through the Lilac Bushes with some of my bath teas and a facial soap! =)  Head on over there and enter! =D Sarah at Through the Lilac Bushes is having a series of giveaways to bring attention to her sister's beautiful photography blog Master's Handiwork Photography! She does beautiful work!

Pumpkin Pie Soap! Yummy!

Well I don't know how it's been in your neck of the woods, but around here it's been getting cooler, which has put me in the mood for fall. I'm dreaming of crisp cool days and nights, bonfires, fresh apple cider, beautiful trees, and best of all- Pumpkin Pie.

This is what makes it awesome. ;)

We're not QUITE there yet, but I'm ready for it, which gave me the idea for this soap. I made it with actual Pumpkin Puree that I put up in my freezer last year, and added some organic cinnamon leaf essential oil, a little ground nutmeg, and a tiny bit of ginger. Ohhh, it smells wonderful!

In the mold....

This is the first of a few fall themed soaps I plan to add to my Etsy shop this fall. =) I'm excited about the new additions!

Cut into bars and curing on the counter! =) 

Have a wonderful day everyone!

I'm Baaaack! =)

Hello everyone! I'm sorry I've been away for so long! I had to take a little bit of a break.

Something exciting happend last month.... my little brother got engaged! =) Here's a picture of him and his sweet bride-to-be!

I'm SO excited. =) The wedding is on November 19th!!! =D 

And I also got a new camera from my amazing husband!! It's a Nikon D5000. =)

So. You should be seeing a few more pictures from me. I LOVE it.

Hopefully tomorrow I will be showing you the new soap I'm making... Pumpkin Pie! =)  I'll be posting regularly now... or doing my best to do that. I hope you're having a great weekend!

The Attack of the Giant Summer Squash!

This year Josh and I are growing our garden at his parent's house down the road. Since the garden isn't right in our back yard I don't get out there as much as I should. Enter very productive squash plants, and you have a very LARGE squash problem. Thank goodness I only planted a couple of them!! Look at the size of the one on the right! It was about 18 inches long!

Here it is compared to a NORMAL sized one. =) 

Now, I love yellow squash, and so does Josh, but you can't eat squash every day right? 

I was envisioning the terrible waste of throwing away my beautiful squashes when my dear friend told me that she had frozen hers before and it came out slightly watery but still yummy! Saved! My freezer is now full of squash slices. ;)

I love my garden. =)

Product Review- Noella Beauty Works' Natural Mineral Makeup!

Hello everyone! I haven't posted in a while.... sorry. Forgive me?

Ok, well a while ago I did a feature post for this awesome shop, Noella Beauty Works, and now I'm back to tell you that I tried her all natural makeup, and it is AMAZING. I'm not much of a makeup girl, but when I do wear makeup I want it to feel good, look good, not harm my skin, and stay nice for hours. This stuff does all of those things. When I wear it I completely forget I have it on it feels so natural!

Most of what I have bought from Jackie so far is eyeshadow. The colors are gorgeous!

Here I'm wearing Heron-  a matte color that is one of my favorites!

This is Blue Spruce. I'm not really into dark colors, but done right this one is really nice!

Ok, I look really pale here of some reason, but I love this color. It's Buttercup. It has a beautiful sheen to it without being sparkly. =)

Another of my favorites- Pink Smoke! This has a little more sparkle to it.

I also have Sleepy Blue....

 Smokey Plum....

 and Nude.... 

..... all of which are GORGEOUS! 

Since I loved the eyeshadows so much, I decided to try her all natural mineral foundation powder. I got samples of the Light and Medium Light shades, and for now I'm sticking with Light. Maybe as summer goes on and I get more tanned I'll need the Medium Light.

Here's a before and after without makeup and with it. 

Here I'm wearing Light foundation powder and Rose Gold eyeshadow (and some cheapo lipstick from Wal-Mart, haha)

A Few of My Favorites From Etsy!

These are some things from my friends on Etsy that I absolutely LOVE. Enjoy! =)

Lavender Rose Jasmine Sachets by Gardenmis

Last Autumn Leaf necklace by JBird'sGarden

Eco Friendly Hemp Whit Bath Puff by Thoughtful Gems

Victorian Ivory Vintage Rose Necklace by Robinhood Couture

Cooling Cucumber Toner!

This is a wonderful summery toner for tired or sore eyes, and it will also soothe sunburns! Thankfully I haven't had a sunburn yet this year, but my eyes have been sore and tired lately, and as soon as I can get a cucumber, I'll be trying this out. =) Cucumber juice is also wonderful for un-clogging pores and getting rid of blackheads!
 (Side note, drinking cucumber juice like what you'll use in this recipe will make your hair grow if you do it for a few weeks!=))

Chop up 1 cucumber, peel and all, and liquify in your blender. Strain of the clear green juice.

Mix:
1/4 cup of cucumber juice
2 tablespoons witch hazel
2 tablespoons distilled water
1 tablespoon vodka

Store in a container with a lid (preferably glass), and keep in the refrigerator as the cucumber juice spoils easily. Use as you would any other toner, but now you won't be spreading chemicals on your face! =)

Blog & Store Hop Linkies!

So, this week I got a surprise email saying that I had been picked as one of the Handmade Wednesday co-hosts for a blog hop linky that I've been using! =) Since I'm "co-hosting", here are the linkies for you to use! It's great exposure so link on up! =)

Blog Linky:




Shop Linky!

Natural Mouth Wash for Whiter Teeth! =)

I love coffee.. I admit it. I fix it like my New England born mom taught me. Lots of cream and enough sugar to sweeten it, and it's SO yummy. But. I have a terrible time keeping my teeth white because of this. I know that Hydrogen Peroxide is a GREAT thing to rinse your mouth with- it kills infections and bacteria and when used regularly it will whiten your teeth. But peroxide tastes NASTY! It's certainly not something I want to swish around my mouth every day. Plus it foams, and foams, and foams.... I usually end up rinsing my mouth out like three times trying to get rid of the taste and bubbles. Gross.

So, I looked up an all natural whitening mouth wash that maybe wouldn't taste so nasty, and the Strawberry Leaf Mouth Rinse is what I found! =) Straw berries have a high content of salicylic acid, which whitens and cleans your teeth by removing plaque. It also has antiseptic properties, which make this a great mouthwash alternative. And it's SO easy to make. Ready?

1/4 cup dried or 1 cup fresh (ORGANIC please!) strawberry leaves. (if you look in my fridge and see a ziploc full of strawberry tops, now you know why.)

1 cup boiling water

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Ok, put your strawberry leaves in a heat proof bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Let them sit until they're completely cool. Strain out the leaves and throw them away. Add the lemon juice and stir well. Store this mouthwash in the refrigerator. Use daily, and rinse after swishing because you don't want to leave that acid sitting on your teeth.

And now, I'm off to clean my soon to be pearly whites.

We interrupt this afternoon to bring you....

Some beautiful Etsy finds! =) Enjoy!

Wrapped Pink Unakite Necklace by NaviWing on Etsy!

This shop is lovely, and I hope you'll go check it out! =) And while you're at it, I know she'd love to hear from you on her facebook page!!

Here's another find!

This beautiful bracelet is made by Marilyn 1545 on Etsy!

Ok, that's all I have time for today... I hope your day is going wonderfully! =)