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.!

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!

Fruit & Greens...

Recently, like in the past month, I've signed myself up for Annie's Organic Buying Club. Annie & her husband used to run Delicious Organics (outside of Miami) delivering organic food/veggies/fruit from West Palm Beach to the Lower Keys. But now... she's doing the Organic Buying Club; which basically combines everyone who's interested to purchase fruit & veggies for a much lower price. There's a small share and a large share, plus you can order extra fruit. The latter is always a nice bonus!

I'm a total believer that fruit & veggies are good for everyone's bodies and souls. The MORE you eat of them, the better you and your body feel in the long run. I can't say I'm a total Vegan... I DO still enjoy pork, chicken, and fish... no, correct that: I LOVE pork (couldn't NOT have it for any length of time!), but most of the time I do prefer to eat fruits & veggies, and have tried numerous times to eliminate processed foods -- it's difficult, but I limit them. Harry & David's Moose Munch isn't organic or vegan... but it sure as heck tastes great!! LOL

Anyway... Annie has her Buying Club in a variety of cities around FL, not just in the Keys. I've tried the small share initially, but found it wasn't enough fruit for me, but good on the veggies. Now I get the large share every 2 weeks (believe it or not, for one person!!), and there's plenty of fruit, but now there's TOO many veggies... but I deal with it. It's good for me and I need to eat more green veggies, so that's how I rationalize it! LOL

Annie includes lots of recipies for the veggies you receive, like kale, spinach, beets, chard. But I just found a website that has some additional recipies that are less complicated and more to my liking -- Earthbound Farm. They not only give recipies for a variety of veggies, but pictures, where it comes from, colors, etc. You'll probably learn more than you ever thought you would about kale!! :-D LOL I've never been a fan of Spinach, wondered about I guess because Popeye ate the whole can! But I just saw a really scrumptious looking recipe I can't wait to try: Spinach & Tuna Linguine -- YUM!! Check out this pic @ right. I also just printed out Orange-Glazed Beets; my Mom always used to tell me how her grandmother made her eat Beet Soup, which really never sounded good to me... so I'll try this recipe instead. '-)

I'm gettin' back into cooking again, which I really enjoy! Cooking "good for ya" stuff! So... if you want to eat more fruits & veggies... give Annie's Buying Club a try. For what you get and the price you pay... it's a STEAL!! Then visit Earthbound Farm for some awesome recipies (they also sell organic food).

Visit: Annie's Buying Club, Earthbound Farms

Bicycling, bicycling...

Do you like to bicycle? I LOVE bicycling... always have!! I've had a lot of bikes in my life, several new ones stolen in high school, but somehow or other I always had a bicycle wherever I went in life. My Dad and I used to go on 20-30 mile rides around NJ... we'd tackle some rolling hills, passing huge estates and farms, have lunch at a country deli, and come home exhausted!! Nice memories... :-)

Have you ever seen the two guys who bicycle up and down the highway between Key Largo & Islamorada? One guy must ride in 1st or 2nd gear (the lowest gear, greatest workout), and he always shirtless and has a basket with a box that he hunches over on. I think he rides down to Islamorada somewhere & back up north -- EVERY DAY. So that's about 40 miles per day, at least! Note: Believe it or not, I've just learned who this guy is... "Box Man" is a retired special ed. teacher who rode with a box on his bicycle (usually of fruit he purchased @ MM103)... for 25 years he's been riding his bike like this -- definitely an eccentric! ONLY in the Keys!! Then there's the other guy who was featured in the paper a little while back... he wears a blue baseball helmet. He used to ride his bike from Key Largo to Plantation Key Convalescent center where his wife used to be, but after she passed away... I think he just rides to the Tavernier Post Office now. He says "hi" to everyone he sees, and just wears that distinctive blue helmet. He's a harmless sort of fellow... but here's another guy who does about 40 miles every day ... in the HEAT no less!!

I just rode around Old Town in Key West today... 20 miles believe it or not!! And I did it in the middle of the day just like those guys do! Gosh, if I did 40 miles/day every day... I would be pretty SVELTE!! :-D LOL But then I might have to be living under the bridge or somewhere similar since I wouldn't have a job. Come to think of it, maybe some advertising company should put a sign on either one of those guys' backs as they ride up and down the highway!! LOL

I had a really enjoyable day riding in and out & up and down the streets of Old Town. My favorite streets are Elizabeth and William Streets... I just LOVE LOVE LOVE the architecture of Key West! Since it didn't seem to work out to live there several months ago, I still enjoy going there and riding around... and dreaming of living there some day. :-) I must have lived in a similar house (gingerbread or Victorian) in a past life... because I really love staying in similar type B&B's whenever I'm away.

I was interested in eating at an Organic or Vegan restaurant for lunch. Not that I'm totally Vegan, but I do eat Organic food & feel so much better when I eat healthy like that. Happy Cow pointed me to (3) different places... but twice I seemed to end up at the same place, so I decided to eat there -- Help Yourself on the corner of Fleming & Margaret Streets. Everybody seemed to be enjoying the Smoothies... but since I was riding, I felt I needed something more substantial. So I ordered a chicken salad wrap... it was GREAT -- it has bits of apples with the chicken, sort of like a Waldorf Salad wrap. There's a great place in Key Largo that makes a great one of these... Eco Eats... they're in the Office Depot shopping plaza. I learned about Healthy Cow, which is a great reference site for Vegans/Organics, through a Green Lodging B&B on Big Pine Key... Deer Run B&B. They're great - Jen & Harry! They make the most wonderful Vegan/Organic breakfasts and it's truly a relaxing paradise... along with visiting Key Deer! Great place for couples and singles who need a break from the world.

Besides doing the East side of Old Town, I went over to the West side... found myself at the courthouse then wandered beyond that to the Truman Annex -- BORING!! I went a little further south and decided that area wasn't worth pursuing since I seemed to be riding through some run down areas. Not a good area for someone like me on a bicycle, so back over I went to the other side of Truman Ave. I must have circled the Cemetary at least 4 or 5x today... and I still got confused as to which direction I was going! Thank goodness for maps!!

A nice HOT Bath is looking really good tonight! LOL So... be sure to check out bicycling Key West! There's so much MORE to see than Duval Street! So many more options of places to eat and new people to meet! '-D

General Synopsis: The next time I decide to go to Key West and do that much bicycling, I'll stay overnight! I was SO EXHAUSTED making that drive home! A-a-a-CK! Thank goodness for a stop in Marathon & a high protein smoothie... only that got me back home!