Sweet Vermont Maple

Maple Lip Balm

We've been busily restocking and preparing our shop for the upcoming Christmas shopping season.  Pouring soy candles and melts, making soap, bath bombs, fizzing bath salts, and lip balm.  With lotion and sugar scrubs to round out the experience, we will have some fabulous gift sets and baskets to unveil in mid to late October.

Catching Up

Summer "vacation" will be over after today, when I return to the regular routine of School Food Service for another year.  It's been a rather busy summer, and looks to be equally busy this fall.  The fact that next weekend is Labor Day is unbelievable to me.  Where has the summer gone?

After spending a week in Boston for the ANC (Annual National Conference) for SNA (School Nutrition

Beautiful Day

Association), I came home to put finishing touches on wedding plans for one of my daughters.  Beautiful day, beautiful bride, and everything was absolutely perfect.  Even though I have been step-grammy to now 9 & 10 year old girls since they were 2 & 3 years old, it is now official when my daughter tied the knot.  Those of you who remember when Christina was born...she's going to Kindergarten this year!  My how the time has flown by, and Hailley is now 4!

Tomato Heaven

Then it was on to a week of statewide school food service training where I embarked on a graduate level course in Nutrition and Food Education, and taught two classes for the State of Vermont.   One of the days we took participants of the class to a local organic farm, and I was delighted with the hoop frame set up they utilize for growing tomatoes...it was definitely Tomato Heaven!   The classes were held up near where my daughter and the 4 grand girlies live, so I made nightly visits after classes were finished each day.

Diaper Cake & Purse

To round out the last weekend of summer vacation, I hosted a baby shower for my younger daughter, who is expecting in October.  The guest list grew, and the space in my house kept feeling smaller, so we borrowed a big tent for the yard, and after it went up we had two days of non-stop rain.  I was worried, to say the least, but the rain moved out and everything started drying out in time for the party.  In my ever creative mode, I embarked on creating a diaper cake for the shower, and when I found myself with leftover diapers I made a diaper purse, because every little girl needs a purse, right?

Soy Tea Lights

Today has been all about catching up with packaging, photographs, and listing items in my online shop.  Today I added soy wax melts and tea lights (boxes made in house) in some of my summer scents, and will be adding fall and holiday fragrances in the near future.  Also added are some fizzing bath salts in 9 oz. and 16 oz. bags.  The 9 oz. bags are handcrafted in house.