Flowers, Flowers, Flowers!

After a week of colder, rainier weather, we seem to be in for another week of sunshine. Temps are expected to be more seasonable, in the 60's, which will be good for the blossoming trees and flowers. And there are many blooming flowers and trees! We have yet to see tulips, but magnolias, Bradford Pears, Redbud (a personal favorite), and others are in their glory.

I watch my lilac bush every day, observing the flower cluster developing, anticipating that distinct scent when it blooms. Of course, I'm hoping it doesn't bloom before our Lilac Festival in mid-May! It's always more fun when the lilacs cooperate with the festival dates.

For my job, I am taking classes in floral design, so I am posting a picture of the two-tiered arrangement I made. What fun!

To continue on with my favorite oils, I'd like to feature a few of the ones I haven't mentioned yet--fractionated coconut oil, jojoba oil, and rice bran oil.

Fractionated coconut oil is a unique one. The solids are removed, making it a colorless liquid. Besides containing many of the properties of coconut oil, it has the following benefits: it remains liquid, it lasts virtually forever, and it "glides" nicely for massage, with the added advantage of not staining sheets and clothing. Besides massage, I like using FCO for lotions, whipped body butter, body spray, and cream.

Jojoba Oil - Pronounced, "ho-ho'-ba," this oil is actually a wax pressed from the seeds of the jojoba plant, found in the US Southwest. Jojoba is closest to human sebum, and as such, is thought to help regulate the skin's natural oil flow, benefitting both oily and dry skin. I use it in a wide variety of products, such as creams and lotions, lip balm, moisturizer, and body spray.

Rice Bran Oil - A light oil which rarely elicits allergic reaction. It is high in vitamin E and many other antioxidants which benefit the skin. Women in Japan having been using RBO for centuries in their beauty treatments. I like to use it in soap and many cosmetics. Lotions and creams and lip balm, as well as hair products, are greatly improved by the addition of rice bran oil.


Now, on to business:

It's time for the April showers so we can have May flowers. It's also time to be showered with savings!

Make your own sale:

10% off of any 3 items
20% off of any 6 items
30% off of any 9 items
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Scents include: Lavender*, Gingered Orange, Lilac Breeze, Groovy Patchouli*, Black Raspberries & Vanilla, Shea Flower, Mint Medley*, Sultry Sandalwood Vanilla, Fresh Clean Herbs, and Spun Sugar. (*essential oil)
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Not on my site, but available by contacting me are:

Herbal Bath Teas: Oatmeal, Milk, & Honey, Purely Herbal Blend, Four Milk Blend, and Relaxation Blend - just $2/ea.
Liquid shower gel: All natural. 2 oz. for $4; 4 oz. $6.00
Lotion: Hand and body lotion - 4 oz, $7
Foaming Soap: Comes in the seasonal Apple Pie, plus Gingered Orange, Summer Tropical, and Lavender. Just $7/bottle for 6 fl. oz.

You must email me to get the savings. Simply mention: April Showers B.
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Photos, What a Day, and New Sale!

Yea! It's March! Spring is coming! Yea!

I'm including a couple of photos of our trip to NJ. I really think I have the cutest grandchildren, and am showing a photo or two of them to prove it. :-) Two of my daughters are also in the photo, and they're cute, too.

*having trouble loading photos, so I will try again later.

What a day--should be entitled, What a Couple of Days!" We have a problem. Our older dog, Tobey, has decided that he hates our puppy, Beau. He attacks without provocation and goes for blood. This time, he succeeded in either biting or scratching Beau's eye, right through the cornea. It was bad, and Beau needed surgery to save his eye.

I was a mess, but with lots of prayers and a good vet, Beau came through surgery with the vet hopeful that he will keep his sight in his eye, or at least keep the eye. I'll go pick him up tomorrow and bring him back home, where I have to somehow keep him separated from Tobey and Mickey. Yikes. His healing is expected to take 4 - 6 weeks.

In happier news, I'm offering an introductory discount on our body glow. It is a salt/sugar/oil mix that is gently massaged on the skin to exfoliate it. Why do we need to exfoliate, you might ask? It's because our skin cells die regularly as we manufacture new ones. Some of those skin cells flake off, but not all of them, especially in certain conditions--oily skin, winter skin, little friction to help rub the cells off, not enough phytonutrients to help keep our glowing complexions, and finally, age. For some reason, the younger the skin, the more efficiently the skin cells come off, but as we age, they become more stubborn, and we need help.

The sugar in the scrub becomes a sort of peel and gently coaxes those stubborn dead cells to come off. The salt adds vital trace nutrients, and both of them aid in exfoliation. Oil is added to moisturize the skin so that it doesn't dry out completely. An emulsifier is added to keep the product from separating and works also, to make the product less oily, both on your skin and in the shower to help prevent slips and falls. On top of everything else, it smells good!

The regular price is $12, but for this week only, it's just $10. Now is the time to try! It comes in the following scents:

Love My Lavender*
Groovy Patchouli*
Gingered Orange
Rice Flower
Mint Medley
Spun Sugar
Fresh Herbs
Blackberries & Vanilla
Rice Flower
Rochester Lilac
Romantic Rose
*denotes essential oils

Don't forget St. Patrick's Day! Get a shamrock soap in Irish Mist, and a body spray in your choice of the above scents, attractively gift packaged in a festive box. Get this set at the attractive price of only $10! Give it as a gift, or gift yourself. I won't tell.

Get your own Erin go bragh, lassie or laddie!

Beau Update and Spring Splendor

Spring Splendor is at its peak here in Rochester. The crabapples and Forsythia have already shed their flowers, but Magnolias, Flowering Quince, and my favorite, Redbud, are still wowing us with their beauty. As for bulb flowers, most of my Daffs have only leaves as reminders of their previous glory, but the tulips are beckoning a closer look.

As I walk around my yard, amazed and appalled at the proliferation of the dandelions (I know, they're good for us), I see old friends returning from previous years as well as perennials I planted last fall making their debut. All of these are exciting to me, but also very special are the lilacs.

Rochester, NY boasts the largest collection of Lilacs in the world, I am proud to announce. Whether it be tall or dwarf, red violet, lavender, pink, or white, you'll find it here. At least once during the festival you'll likely find us wandering around Highland Park, drinking in the heady scent. The park is home to many other wonderful types of vegetation, as well, and is well worth the effort to get there.

This is when I pity southerners, who can't grow the cold-loving lilacs. I admit that it's nice to have something on the warmer south!

In celebration of lilac month, I'd like to announce a sale.

It's Lilac Festival time in Rochester! The lilacs are in full bloom and are not only lovely, but are perfuming the air with their gorgeous scent. For the month of May, a free bar of Rochester Lilac soap will be included in any order of just $15 or more. If you don't have lilacs where you live, here is your chance to "stop and smell the lilacs."

Additional products in lilac scent include bath salts, bath milk, body spray, lotion, and liquid soap/shower gel.

Herbal Bath Teas: Oatmeal, Milk, & Honey, Purely Herbal Blend, Four Milk Blend, and Relaxation Blend - $2/ea.
Liquid shower gel: All natural. 2 oz. for $4; 4 oz. $6.00
Lotion: Hand and body lotion - 4 oz, $7
Limited Edition Soap: Lavender Patch, a lovely blend of lavender and patchouli. Very few bars left, $6.50 ea.

Foaming Soap: Comes in scents listed on site. Just $7/bottle for 6 fl. oz.

Now, for Beau news: the kid is growing, still very cute, playful, and not housebroken. It seems that he'll be one of those little guys who is so ugly that he's cute, LOL. Check out the photos. His final name is Beau, btw, but I call him, "Beaudacious," because that describes his personality. ;-)