12 Days of Gift Giving - Day 3: Lime Basil Handcrafted Soap

Today's deal is my Lime Basil Handcrafted Soap. This soap is my favorite green color, with swirls of dark green suspended in limeish green soap. The aroma is out of this world: lime and basil essentials oils are earthy and fresh! On sale today for $4.95!

This batch of soap was made last spring so it's reached the point in it's soap life where I don't sell at full price. My soaps have a two year shelf life. This soap has plenty of shelf life left, but what happens with soap is the aroma will start to evaporate off. But the truth is these "older" bars of soap will last a VERY long time in your shower. They have continued to cure over these past months yielding a harder bar of soap that will stick around in the soap dish longer.

Order yours at the webstore or by phone at 208-761-9775 or send me an email!

12 Days of Gift Giving Deals - Day 2

Today's deal is a 6 ounce salt scrub in Mojito or Island Sunset. Sorry scrub pictured is lavender but it's this container and size.

Salt scrubs are amazing little bathing luxuries! A must have in your shower. I recommend using once per week to gently exfoliate dry surface skin and moisturize. These scrubs are made with a base of Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil which lends it's coconut aroma to the mix and Safflower oil. The Mojito aroma is a blend of lime and spearmint essential oils with a hint of vanilla. The Island Sunrise blend is orange, tangerine, and lime essential oils with a hint of spice, an exotic and more complex aroma. These are my own unique essential oil blends, this is a great opportunity to give it a try. Regularly $9.25 on sale today only for $7.00.

Order online at www.lavandedebois.com or click here to order scrub.

12 Days of Gift Giving Deals - Day 1

Wow! It's December 1st! I'm kicking off the month with twelve days of gift giving values! This will allow me to a feature a different product each day and you'll get the best value! I'm kicking off the deals with my Royal Velvet Lavender Bundles. It's totally fitting: the dream of starting a lavender farm grew into creating a product line revolving around my love of lavender. 

As I'm beginning my fifth year in business, sharing Royal Velvet lavender with you is the perfect way to launch the month. And this variety takes the cake. It stands up to Idaho's hot dry climate and the color is amazing! This deep purple hue is preserved perfectly in these aromatic bundles. Put a bundle on a shelf or in a vase or take it apart to put in your crafts and arrangements. Regularly $6 per bundle, on sale TODAY only for $4.50. Shop online or directly at the webstore or place your orders by phone at 208-761-9775 or email.

Check out photos below for more values not on the webstore.

Photos by Judy Richards, This Moment Photography

Royal velvet bundles on sale for $4.50 or purchase a bundle with this glass ornament in soft colors for $2 more.

Royal velvet lavender with lavender salt scrub:

Royal velvet bouquet in Camille Vases, on sale this month at my Willow House online store.

Hidcot Giant lavender bundles make a stunning display. Bundles are twice as long as are the flower heads. Not the same deep purple hue as Royal Velvet but create a stunning display all the same. Not available at the online store, but available in the showroom or by phone or email order. Also $4.50 per bundle today. I recommending purchasing three bundles to make your own stunning display.

Hidcote Giant bundles on display in the showroom.

http://boiselavender.store.willowhouse.com/product.aspx?zpid=6005

Lavande de Bois Gift Guide

Photos by Judy Richards, This Moment Photography

Every year in early November I host my annual Anniversary Sale & Gift Boutique. This year I'm celebrating four years in business!!! Wow it's been a journey ... of  fun, inspiration and learning; and ups and downs too. The Gift Boutique in my home showroom was last week but I've had several requests for a list of gift ideas. So for those who couldn't make it ... here's the virtual gift boutique:

Handmade soaps are such extraordinary expressions of appreciation. It's not run of the mill manufactured, it's handcrafted aromatic goodness. Each soap is unique and then packaged by hand. And basically everyone who baths needs soap! So why not give an aromatic luxurious and unique gift. Here are my suggestions by price category:

Gifts under $5
I basically started my business about the time the economy started going down the tubes. And each year I've discovered that people love to give small tokens of appreciation during the holidays; but their budgets are decreasing. So each year I try to put together ideas in smaller price points. Soaps and lip balms fit the bill:  Handcrafted 1.75 ounce guest soaps are wrapped in cello and tied with wraphia for $3.75 each. Or consider a lip balm in Coco Mint or Vanilla.

Gifts under $10
Hand Salves in Peppermint, Lavender, Lemon Drop & Snickerdoodle for $5.25 are perfect for the hands that help. Shea butter and naturally good aroma team up to moisturize and heal dry parched hands! Or pair it with a soap in a gift set that arrives ready for gift giving for $13.50

The Soap and spa salts gift set in medium for $9.25 and small for $7.50 are super popular. They come in Candy Cane, Lavender, Citrus, and Rosemary Mint. My spa salts are direct from the dead sea and the complex mineral composition creates the perfect aromatic and therapeutic soak for tired bodies! These little bathing beauties are not available on the website, you may order by contacting me by phone or email.

Of course, any soap would make a great gift. My premium and classic handcrafted soaps are priced between $6.25 and $7.25, many with complimentary gift wrap options. Click here to see the entire selection of handcrafted soaps.

Gifts $20 and under
The Body Essentials Gift Sets in Candy Cane, Mojito, Lavender and Citrus Blast was so popular last year I brought it back this time in Citrus as well. Head to toe goodness arrives packaged in this sweet little organza bag tied with raphia and a handmade gift tag. Salt scrubs are amazing little bathing luxuries, paired with my all natural body butter made with a large percentage of organic Shea Butter, and a handcrafted aromatic and moisturizing soap.

Not sure what aromas they like? Consider the handmade guest soaps gift set. Four soaps arrive packaged and ready for gift giving.

The Lavande Gift Set was created to give a few little aromatic lavender somethings, sure to please the lavender enthusiast.

For the ultimate personal gift, consider creating a gift basket. Call me for details at 208-761-9775 or email me at susanne at lavandedebois dot com. I look forward to hearing from you!

Awesome and Easy GF Mini Cheesecakes

These little cheesecakes are SUPER easy to make and they are my absolute favorite dessert to add to any party. Of course, if you'd like to make a "glutenous" version you could make a traditional graham cracker crust and put in the bottom of each muffin tin. The advantage of these little mini cheesecakes is they are easy to serve and make a pretty display on the dessert buffet.

Ingredients:
shredded coconut or granola
fresh or frozen berries
16 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar (I use organic)
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tins and sprinkle with shredded coconut or gluten free granola. Place a few fresh or frozen blueberries or other berries over first layer.

Cream together softened cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Divide the mixture evenly among 12 muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes or until almost set in the middle. Cool completely.

Serving Variations:
-Garnish with fresh berries and whipped cream.
-Make a chocolate ganache by melting white chocolate chips and a little cream and smooth over cooled cheesecakes. Add fresh berries if you like.
-Make a fruit puree using fresh or frozen berries and dollop a little on top of cheesecake (prior to baking) and swirl together.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

These cookies are full fat and full of sugar but they are gluten free and super delicious. I've had several requests to share this recipe so here it is:

Cream with mixer two cubes of butter (softened).

Add:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup organic sugar
1 cup Peanut Butter

Cream together. Then Add:
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Cream again and add the following ingredients combined:
3 cups teff flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthum gum

Add chocolate chips to taste.

Roll into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. I use a meat mallet to "smash" or you could use a fork and make a criss cross pattern.

Bake in 375 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.

Disclaimer: I am not a recipe expert, just a novice sharing ideas that help me provide options for my gluten free family. Enjoy!

Gluten-free Thai Chicken Salad

I really don't know where the original recipe for this salad came from. But I've always remembered the ingredients and when my husband stumbled upon the Gluten Free Thai Peanut Sauce from San-J we were so thrilled to start making this salad again.

Here's how it works:

Grill or stir fry your chicken. Toward the end of cooking baste chicken with Thai Peanut Sauce. Add to any type of lettuce. We use mixed greens or romaine lettuce and put out in individual serving bowls the following: Mandarin Oranges, Cashews, Green Onions, and Cilantro. Since everyone in our family has slightly different preferences they each build their own salad and dress with the Thai Peanut Sauce. Super yummy! And easy! A perfect last minute dinner.

Lavender Harvest - Part II

This timeless quote from William Henry Channing inspired in part the reflections of Lavender Harvest - Part I. Please enjoy the quote and the rest of my harvest photos.

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion, to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly, to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart, to bear all cheerfully, to all bravely await occasions, hurry never. In a word, to let the spiritual unbidden and unconscious grow up through the common. This is to be my symphony."

Arbak and Robin scurrying through the lavender patch.

Basket of freshly harvested lavender on my deck:

Lavender bundles, all ready to be hung to dry.

The lavender patch ... my favorite row: Royal Velvet Lavender!

Royal Velvet row with garden and blackberry patch in the background.

Lavender on the deck.

Lavender bundles hanging to dry in the showroom.

Lavender harvest - a symphony of sorts - Part I

Yes I'm writing about my July lavender harvest in September! It's apropos really, read on.

This year's harvest, my third, since I began growing my lavender patch "test plot" of fifty graceful and stunning plants was so different than previous harvests. Past harvests were spent scampering around, cutting lavender, dripping with sweat and thinking "why does this smell so lovely and yet I'm not enjoying this?" as I sandwiched time to harvest between camping trips, family outings, and art festivals. This year was different, not because life wasn't as full and busy as usual but because I made a choice to sit and be still; to work unhurried, to let the sweat roll off my brow and appreciate that 95 degrees at nine in the morning on a hot summer day in Idaho is part of the package of living where I love. I took moments to stop and inhale deeply of the intoxicating aroma that beckons me to days gone by where life was unhurried. I listened to the sounds of our little homestead in the city: our chickens clucking nearby, the birds chirping overhead, our dog barking at a passerby, and cars scurrying down the highway nearby. My neighbor dropped by to chat as I worked and she harvested a bouquet to enjoy in her kitchen. My daughter stepped out to ask if I was still making pancakes that day. And my ten year old son dropped by to help bundle and stack lovely little aromatic lavender bouquets. 

What was different exactly? Me. I chose to let time pass me by while I sat still in the lavender patch taking it all in; being quiet, reflective, prayerful. Letting those around me pop in without feeling the need to protect the quiet still moment I was enjoying. 

These moments in the lavender patch are small glimpses of the new skills I am learning in this career we call motherhood. As my children are growing and leaving my nest, there's this intense desire to clutch them, to hold on for dear life. The desire to keep what I have is so intense, I feel it in the depths of my soul. My oldest son's entire senior year I wanted to flash freeze and not let another moment pass our family by. But after eighteen years of holding that babe in my arms, the most difficult of motherhood tasks came: to let go. It's an irony to be sure. Our entire goal as a mom is to grow them up; but then when they've accomplished the goal, it's like really? I'm just supposed to let them fly off? I found myself wanting to create these great family moments where we were all together having a grand time. I quickly discovered that a moment can't be created, it must be caught and reveled in as it passes by. 

So now as my son has headed off to his second year at the university, and my daughter embarks on her senior year, and my youngest son finishes elementary school I stand at this precipice in time, a choice: to hold on to what I am losing or to revel in what I have. I choose to revel. Not that there aren't still many moments where I secretly mourn the passing of family life, but I now see there is still so much family life to be had as it moves and grows and changes. And as I sharpen my skills of letting go, it invites my children to experience a fullness in their own life, to explore uninhibited. And the still watchful mom can continue to revel in and celebrate these moments as they pass by.

More Lavender Harvest Photos coming tomorrow in Part II.

Resist the Daily Dupe

The irony that plays out everyday across our country hit me between the eyes the other day as I was picking up Valentines for my family. "Health/Beauty" is a section of every grocery, drug and general merchandiser across the county. It's an oymoron to be sure, aisles stashed with hair care, make-up, and personal care items loaded with toxic and harmful chemicals are grouped with items that claim "health". Not to mention that so many of the "health" items might not be so good for you either. Consumers are being duped daily by the idea that personal care items are healthy. Resist the daily dupe by getting informed about the harmful chemicals in personal care products and household products that have the potential to cause illness to you and your family. Here are some links that I've found helpful:

Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database has been an exceptional tool.  You can search by product, ingredient, or company to find out what your exposure risk might be of using that particular item.

Here's a great article by the NOW foundation with loads of ideas for protecting yourself from harmful chemicals in cosmetics and household products.

Organic Facts has a list of eight chemicals you should NEVER use.

And here's my personal favorite: Think before you stink! I absolutely love the name and it addresses my daily challenge: people wearing cologne carry toxic chemicals on them that make me sick (quite literally).

I'm hosting a Lavande de Bois giveaway

Massage Bar Three Pack

This month I'm giving away a Massage Bar Three Pack. I know the recipient will just love these Moisture and Massage Bars made with Cocoa Butter and Extra Virgin Coconut Oil to soothe and moisturize dry skin with essential oils added for inspiring aroma. A wonderful aromatic treat for winter parched skin.

Enter the giveaway drawing by giving me your feedback on the following topic:

What does the term natural mean to you? This is not a regulated term and it seems to float around there on the web and on product labels with varied meanings. I'd love to know what you think natural means and what you would like a manufacturer to mean when they use the term. Read Lavande de Bois's natural page if you're interested in knowing how we handle the term.

Post your comments here. I'll announce the winner on January 26th so be sure to check back then.

New year, new beginnings, Part II

Becoming a Willow House design consultant is just another way for me to do something I absolutely love, that is, to redecorate! I've talked to more girlfriends this month who have the redecorating itch. I think it just comes with the territory of being January. We've all taken down Christmas and it left some empty spaces that need to be filled up again. Who knows what was there before Christmas, but the itch to redecorate, reorganize, clean out cupboards, redesign our universe, has arrived. I have so enjoyed using Willow House's high quality and innovative products to reinvigorate my living spaces and entertain my friends and business associates; I think it will be loads of fun sharing their products with others.

The new spring inspiration guide is here! And loaded with new products and ideas that are true to Willow House's reputation for bringing fun, beautiful, versatile, and design savvy merchandise to our fingertips. Whether you need an organizational lift in your home office, or a new motif in a corner of your house, or just some fashionable pieces to make entertaining a simply elegant event: Willow House as some seriously good ideas.

I invite you to experiment with a whole new world of innovative decorating and entertaining ideas. For more information visit my new Willow House website at www.boiselavender.willowhouse.com.

New year, new beginnings, Part I

The new year seems to bring a mental readiness for me to try new things. It's also a time for reflection about how the past year has been and what I might consider changing. Last November I celebrated the third anniversary of my business. I've had three awesome years of learning and growing, both personally and professionally. It's been a sweet roller coaster of discovery. I say roller coaster because time spent in the lows of business development tend to produce more productive highs. These three years have been full of learning so many things. How to build a website, how to promote my business in a changing e-commerce marketplace, how to make new products, experimenting with aromas as often as I can, etc. etc. It's been so amazing and fun. Full of everything ... except a paycheck.

I started Lavande de Bois in the fall of my oldest son's junior year. Anticipating college ahead I figured I'd have two years to experiment, and learn, and then return a profit, just in time to pay the looming cost of college. After two years, it wasn't quite there but I thought I'd give it another year. And really, 2010 was amazing. It was sort of a break out year in terms of building my customer base. Things just seemed to grow exponentially as my loyal customer base gave my naturally good soaps and bathing essentials to friends and relatives and then recommended me to the same. I am so grateful for the tremendous support and encouragement I've receive from my customers who continue to love and share my products!

So it begs the question, why is it not this huge success? There's still more to analyze for me to fully answer that questions but here's where I've discovered the most success: direct sales. The people who meet me and listen to me talk about my products for a few minutes or read about them hear my passion and open their mind to trying something that seems in their mind expensive, after all, it's just a bar of soap. But when they discover that it's more than just soap, it's a beautiful package of aromatic and natural goodness that uplifts your spirits and nourishes and cleans your skin, then they appreciate the value of this premium labor intensive handcrafted product. Appreciation translates into sales.

The other area of success and intrigue is in creating custom soaps that are just the right expression for someone else. Whether the soap is for a wedding or an adjunct to a businesses marketing plan or private label soap I love creating custom soaps.

Where I haven't been successful is in retail outlets. My soap just tends to sit on the shelf. It gets dropped, it collects dust. A retailer doesn't have the passion and care that I do for my soap. So they tend to end up with older product that doesn't look so good. And the truth is it takes a lot of time for me to service these accounts and my wholesale pricing leaves little room for profit opportunity, especially when the volume is not there.

So for now I'm going to keep networking and sharing my naturally good handcrafted soaps and bathing essentials with you all and I'm going to be more selective about my retail outlets. In addition to creating new soaps and bathing essentials throughout the year, I've decided to start another new thing! I've decided to become a Willow House Design Consultant. And I can't wait to tell you more about it in Part II of this post.

My tips for feeding your gluten free family

Originally posted on spirochicks, I thought the new year would be a great time to "reshare" my tips for feeding your gluten free family:

It seems that one of the hallmarks of Lyme sufferers is having to struggle with multiple food sensitivities and chief among them is gluten. I've eaten a gluten free diet for well over ten years. But in the past several years I've discovered that my sons are gluten intolerant as well. While feeding myself had been challenging enough, feeding my kids gluten free was even more challenging. With school lunches, birthday parties, and social events, somehow I've had to figure out how to provide options for them that free them up to choose what their body needs while still engaging in everyday social activities. It's been hard! Here I share a few tips that have made this endeavor a little easier.

Breakfast on the go:

This Multi-grain waffle recipe from Ali of Whole Life Nutrition has made on the fly breakfasts possible. On Sunday mornings my husband and I make this recipe for our family. Today I made them while my husband went out and picked our blackberries. So we had waffles with fresh organic blackberries. Yum! And then there's always plenty left over to pop in the freezer for on the fly breakfasts throughout the week.

A sweet treat:

My gluten-free brownie recipe has way too much sugar but it's decadent and way too good for those glutenous eaters to turn their noses up. I make these and wrap them individually and put them in the freezer at school. Next time the birthday treats roll through the classroom there's a super yummy scrumptious treat in the freezer for the teacher to pull out for my son. He doesn't feel quite as deprived, after all their his favorite!

Pizza Pizza:

I think the hardest food for my boys to give up is pizza. Thankfully I found this super easy pizza crust mix from Namaste Foods that tastes soooooo good. For tips and pizza sauce recipe see my pizza blog post. I haven't taken the boys off dairy ... yet. So for now they get Mozarella cheese and I get goat cheese which tastes delightful by the way. But maybe we can get Kim to share her "cheese" recipe made from cashews, another great alternative to make this a dairy free treat as well. I make this usually once per week so I can tuck a pizza in my son's lunch for a little change from the usual.

Super packed on the fly nutrition for mom:

Green smoothies are the best invention ever. I feel so good when I drink these! I use it as a meal replacement or midday snack. It's a super fabulous way to load up on greens without having to eat a salad loaded with dressing.

My favorite green smoothie:

2 cups water

3 large handfuls spinach

1 apple or pear

dash of cinnamon

blend to smooth consistency with blender

Blender tip: after breaking two blenders in the first four months of smoothy making I broke down and purchased a Vitamix. Smoothies made with the Vitimix taste so much better than the ones made with others. It's now a necessity in my kitchen.

Another staple I can't live without:

I shared the recipe for Maple Granola in this blog post about Progurt. But it's worth mentioning again as it's a staple in my home. I make Maple granola usually once per week. It's fabulous to add on top of yogurt or eat for breakfast. I buy the gluten free oatmeal from Bob's Red Mill and get organic coconut shred in large pieces. Super crunchy and good for you too.

I highly recommend this cookbook from Whole Life Nutrition. It is packed with useful information and tried and true recipes. Also Ali's recipe blog is an invaluable resource.

I know we'd all love to hear what other tips you all have for living a gluten free life. So please share.

Enter the drawing to receive a FREE Candy Cane Handcrafted Soap

Readers ... here's an opportunity for you to win a free soap! First, read the feature about me on Lymenaide Holiday Bazaar. Then comment on my booth at the bazaar. You'll be entered in the drawing to receive a FREE bar of awesome good handcrafted Candy Cane soap.

I'm sad to say that I had to mark my Candy Cane Soap out of inventory on the webstore. I took the last 7 bars with me to Sun Valley where I'll be at the Papoose Club Annual Bazaar sharing naturally good soaps and bathing essentials. I have one bar set aside for the give away. So unless you're in Sun Valley this weekend this will be your last chance to get one (until next year that is).

Mint Chocolate Chip Soap, forerunner and close cousin to my Candy Cane soap, is still available! So if you need a mint and chocolate fix ... that's the one to go for!