I know it's THE place...

The BEST way for me to know whether a new town that I'm considering moving to is the right place is when I find THREE (3) handmade soap & body product shops, especially when one is organic & vegan!! :-D JACKPOT!! LOL

Of course, I'll share these three wonderful shops with you... they all have a website, but it's worth visiting St. Augustine to check out their distinctive little shops & smell all the goodies to spoil yourself with! The first place I wandered into is called Bath Junkie. It's an interesting shop with lots of colorful soaps, soap beads, bath salts, bath products... and empty bottles, etc. Your delite & treat is to custom create & blend your own bath & body products! Even though they have products made with essential oils, I actually found a handmade soap made by Nikki's Naturals. I tried Cranberry, and was greeted with a soap having a variety of oils with a spunky cranberry scent! It lasted a long time too... as I'm still using it! Apparently the Pet Soap is very popular on the 'net with a lot of pet shops; since I don't have a dog, I can't say how good it is. Anyway, Nikki's Naturals is a one woman soap company (just like Jackie's) out of Arkansas. Her soap is definitely one to try as it's available in a variety of scents, sure to please everyone, including your dog(s)!

The next shop... Hickory Ridge Organics was definitely a TREAT! Originally when I sought out this shop, I was looking for Dead Sea Salts in particular. I found a wonderful jar of Lavender Dead Sea Salts, and also Vanilla Ylang Ylang. I decided to try the Lavender and was NOT disappointed! The first night I used it in my tub it was SO relaxing with little bits of lavender seeds floating around, I had the deepest night's sleep afterward! :-D LOL It had a very nice strong scent of Lavender; I'm looking forward to trying the Vanilla Ylang Ylang next! The owner, Lisa, and I had a really great conversation about organics available in the St. Augustine area. She also included a free sample of Lavender soap for me to try... that's next on my list! Next time I visit, I'll be purchasing a few bars of her soap as well as the perfume! She has a website also, and I noticed she has an interesting type of soap available also... Felted Artisan Soap! Sounds interesting, huh? :-D With an order from her website, you receive (2) Free soap samples, which is a nice bonus, PLUS Free Shipping for orders over $50! Very nice incentives for shopping online! '-D I also learned that the B&B I stayed at, the Centennial House, has contracted with Hickory Ridge to purchase their soap & body products for the B&B! A very NICE choice!! This B&B was also a wonderful place to stay... I'll elaborate more in another article. '-)

The last shop I visited was in the "Oldest Drugstore" on Orange St. After looking at a variety of antique drug store products (of which I noticed they had no antique Johnson & Johnson items) further perusal of the shop in the back led to a variety of handmade soap, face, & body products, as well as large glass jars of blended tea, all made by Old City Remedies. I purchased a small package of Peppermint Dead Sea Salts as it smelled so minty fresh, I could imagine it clearing my sinuses while bathing with the salts! I also purchased two handmade soaps: Pear Berry and Black Licorice. It was really a tough decision... as the Vanilla Silk smelled like warm caramel, but I decided to try that one the next time, along with the facial products. I did try a sample of the shea butters -- very nice, looking forward to purchasing a container of that also!

Stay tuned for more tidbits from my north FL visit to St. Augustine, the oldest city in the U.S.!

Luscious Lavender...

Found a truly wonderful soap @ Whole Foods a few weeks ago, and even my friends agree that it's a wonderfully scented soap & very luxurious! While shopping I came upon a table with huge blocks of soap and little pieces cut off. I bought several scents to try & gave some to a Lavender-loving friend. Very aromatic & nicely priced, Hugo Naturals also has a nice variety of body products, baby hugo, & soy candles products available at their website! Go get a sample of this bar at your local Whole Foods... or just take my word for it & order it! '-D

Become a "Spa Goddess"!

My! It's been an awful long time since I've written... my apologies! My journeys up to NJ have taken up quite a bit of time in March & April. '-)

In the meantime, I DID receive this marvelous organic soap in the mail and the essential oils used are THE MOST aromatic I've ever encountered in a soap! Obviously, I LOVED my samples & refreshing bar, pictured below.
The smaller sampler sized bars lasted several days and you just wouldn't believe the intensity of the scents, but certainly not overpowering... very clean & natural scents of citrus & lavender, blood orange & bergamot, forest juniper berries, peppermint, and oatmeal & aromatic spices (the latter not your average oatmeal soap)! Personally, I will definitely try all of these scents in the larger bar similar to the "Refresh" (peppermint) bar pictured. The larger bars are somewhat larger than the average sized handmade bar soap.

There's also a nice variety of gift sets available so you can try a variety of these aromatherapy soaps or bath products all at the same time, or order the small bar soap sampler to try a variety of scents. This is a somewhat more economical way to try all the scents rather than ordering a large bar of each scent & not being sure you're going to like it.

Also featured on the Spa Goddess Etsy site are "shower steamers"... this is something I definitely would like to try! Essential oils are released into the shower steam and are absorbed into the body! We're always looking for ways to make our showers into more of a spa experience, and this could be it!

So... you can bet I'm not done trying the organic spa products of Spa Goddess/Angel Face Botanicals! Let us know how you like the products!

On the web, Spa Goddess is known as Angel Face Botanicals. You can order from either site.

Next I'll be sampling the products of Elegant Rose Boutique on Etsy...

A New Kind of Cleansing...

Just for something a little different, I'm going to try some handmade soaps from several *new* Vegan soapmakers on Etsy over the next month or so. There's such a nice variety of handmade soaps available these days, maybe I'll find some others to add to my current favorite!

Here's a list of those that seem rather appealing, and if you have any thoughts or soapmakers to share, please feel free to leave your comments! :-)

*Burnt Mill Candles & Soaps -- very colorful soaps
*Elegant Rose Boutique -- essential oil soaps (plus bath salts)
*Spa Goddess -- organic soaps (plus bath salts & perfume)
*Long Leaf Soaps -- Nag Champa soap

Stay tuned for the results... '-)

Guess you're waiting for the results, eh? :-D I'll be receiving soap shortly from Spa Goddess in a variety of essential oil scents: Peppermint, Lavender, Citrus & Lavender, Juniper Forest, and Blood Orange & Bergamot. Continue to stay tuned... '-)

Where do we go to Eat?

Being an organic food lover, it's difficult at times to find a place to eat with healthy food choices... and make choices amongst the many non-organic food items. Living here in the Keys though tends to open up some of the food choices because of the wealthy abundance of fresh fish! Just yesterday one of the fishing charters (where I work) came in with a Swordfish!! It weighed 228 lbs.! I've never seen a swordfish, so it was a delightful treat to actually see one in person... it was a bit shorter than I thought it would be, with a small tail but a rather long sword. I've been told that they're THE BEST fish to eat... maybe the charter boat captain left us some samples! :-D

But besides the fish... we do have a few places in the Upper & Middle Keys for organic/vegan eating choices, although some are far & few between. One great place in Key Largo is Eco Eats. They create really delicious wraps full of chicken, fish, veggies that are large but not overly filling. I enjoy going to this small restaurant whenever I'm up in that area. I believe they're opening another (smaller) location at Froggy's, the local gym, in Tavernier.

On Big Pine Key, there's the Good Food Conspiracy! Wish we had one of these up in the Upper Keys! They combine health & organic food, organic products, good-for-you products, and a snack bar with awesome smoothies and cookies made by Deer Run (a Green Lodging B&B nearby-link is to the right). This is a definite stop on your way to Key West, and be sure to make time to visit The Crystal Loft next door for beautiful crystal gifts for yourself! :-D

There's a new health food store in Marathon, Food for Thought... I'll touch on this at a later date (after I've had a chance to visit & sample)! Sure wish a health food store w/organic snack bar would open in Islamorada! It would make eating so much easier & healthful!! :-D

If you're looking for a location somewhere else in the U.S., a great online source of vegan/organic restaurants is Happy Cow. I've tried some of the restaurants recommended while travelling and it's been an enjoyable eating experience!

Some *new* soap...

I just ordered some soap from Jackie, and she has a *new* scent: Pomegranate Mango!! I am definitely looking forward to trying that!

She's also made some new guest & bar soaps for the Christmas holidays... I decided to try the guest soaps. My order is sitting at the post office presently... I'll pick it up tomorrow, and let you know how wonderful the *new* scents are!! '-D

I forgot that she also has a new Chocolate soap available also. I can't imagine using a "chocolate" soap, but if you love chocolate... you'll probably love this soap too!

See: Handcrafted by Jackie Turbot

Note: The Pomegranate Mango is absolutely delightfully sparkling! :-D It gives a wonderful lift to your morning shower! The Christmas Memories soap is also very nice... I'm looking forward to receiving the larger bars for the holidays this month!

Growin' Some Herbs...

In the late Spring, I took a class about growing herbs. It was given by a woman who owns Redlands Herb Farm with her husband and son. It was a very interesting class and she brought lots of herbs for us to grow in either pots or gardens. She said the herbs were very hard to grow in the heat of the Summer, not only in So. Florida but especially in the Keys. I remember reading that the Community Garden down in Key West had been harvested in late Spring/early Summer, and all will be replanting again in the Fall. But undaunted by this "impossibility", I purchased two herbs and two veggie plants, and repotted them in pretty clay pots and set them out on my front porch, which gets a bit of sun in the morning, then mostly shade by the afternoon.

What did I buy? Mint -- which has been doing rather well, believe it or not; I'll make some mint tea soon with those leaves. Another plant which is a cross between Parsley and Celery, but smells like Celery. I was fortunate to have some of this in my chicken salad one day... but that one has (just recently) unfortunately bit the dust. :-/ I thought it was "Borage", but I guess I got the name mixed up with another, 'cause borage tastes more like cucumber.

I also have some mini carrots -- they have to be the SWEETEST little carrots I have EVER tasted!! It's too bad their so tiny!! Perfect for a tiny person the size of an ant!! :-D LOL She said they should be potted in a deep pot so that they'd grow deep & long, but that hasn't happened. Maybe I'm supposed to do something else, I don't know. Maybe you know? :-)

...and English Lavender... she said this one was especially difficult to grow because of the Summer heat, but so far so good! It smells SO NICE when I run my hands through it! And believe it or not, it's holding up rather well!! I'm looking forward to drying & using in sachets maybe, or in my bath... or maybe in my food! '-D The woman who hosted the class made some sugar cookies with lavender sprinkled on top... how simple and how fun! :-D When I lived in IL back in the 90's, I had a HUGE garden full of lavender, right out in front of the house! It was wonderful... did I do anything with it, not then... just enjoyed the flowers and the scent mostly. NOW, I wish I had a garden full of lavender since I use it so much.

So, I've made it through a good part of this hot Summer with most of the plants! I'll take a picture to show... so you have a better idea! Coming real soon... '-)

Somebody recently gave me some pole bean seeds... but I'm not a bean person, so some lucky person may be receiving those from me. If you're interested, let me know! '-D