And the Beat Goes On

As much as I love being on Facebook, I have missed blogging! We've been wicked busy! Here are some pics to catch up. Of course, Max is doing very well and the mountains are still beautiful!

Peter competed in the Vermont Jr. Iron Chef competition
We had another fantastic Easter Brunch at the Langham in Boston
The girls grew and stayed cute and the boys (and my friend Ramsey) all earned their 1st Dan Black Belts in March.

Twin Birch continues to grow. I am opening a store/studio next week which will give people a chance to come in and shop, see soapmaking and even take classes to learn how to make fantastic natural skin care products. I can't wait to share pictures & stories from this new adventure!

Feel the Love Friday Giveaway for you Piggies

This is the time of year when our feet take a beating. They are stuffed into boots of all comfort levels. Some look like this:


Or this:

Or (my favorite and the least practical here in the Green Mountain State) THIS!



No matter what, we could all use a little of this:Buy it on Twin Birch Etsy or, if you're Enchanted from Enchanted Hills Creations, send me your addy at twinbirch(at)verizon(dot)net, and you'll have it in your hands so you can take care of your feet!!!

Happy Weekend, everyone!

Man! Your Hair is Crazy!

At the elementary school, there is a long standing tradition called Crazy Hair Day. It's always on a Friday and I always have a little stress about it. Mostly because our morning routine is down to the minute. No time to spare. So, the idea of coming up with some innovative, adorable hair do to install at 7:11 am while the kids put on their snowpants (yes, already!) isn't my favorite. Here are the results of this year's challenge. There are chopsticks & gobs of vaseline in the girls hair. Thanks goodness Peter's idea of crazy is putting in some ponytails. The hair trend for ten year old boys is long, longer, longest. I'm picking my battles carefully.

Who else has these fun events in their school? Am I the only hair scrooge? Happy Styling!

Feel the Love Friday Hops Aboard the Holiday Express

I hope you all had a fab Halloween! We had a blast. I'll have to post about that this week. I have a picture of a great friend in lederhosen, but he won't let me blog about him... I have to apply a little pressure. It will be worth it, though. He has great knees. hee hee!


Congratulations to Teresa R of Life, Homesteading & Everything. She's an adorable mom who home~schools here sweetie kids and muses about everything from fine lit. to chickens. She's also a great handcrafted soap customer. Who doesn't love that? Go over to her blog. You'll love her, too! So, Teresa.... Here's the giveaway gift.

It's my Holiday Trio of Artisan Soap... a cute little package of my three holiday favs~ perfect pumpkin, cranberry cheer & vermont spruce. It's all dressed up and ready to give. Or keep. I love all three of these soaps. Hopefully you will too!

You can grab one from etsy. They are great for hostess gifts during the Holiday Party Season or for Stockings & Hanukkah treats. Congrats to you, Teresa & thanks for being such a great, sweet friend! I have your addy, so I'll get it out to you this week!

Way to Go Ella!!!

Little Miss Ella is well on her way to being a Black Belt! She tested successfully for her yellow stripe last week! I can tell you first hand that it's a tad nerve~wracking to stand in front of the instructors and the whole class to test for your next rank. Ella did it on her own and she did an outstanding job! See for yourself:





Here is our instructor Master Tom Chase putting Ella's new belt on her!
Both Master Tom Chase and our other instructor, Master Peter Chase (his father) are 5th Degree Black Belts. Toms daughter Jenny (our excellent babysitter) is a 2nd Degree.
Ella and I only have 9 more testings to be recommended for our Black Belts. :)

Let Me Do You a Favor!

My friend Cindy's daughter is having her bridal shower next week. Cindy is a great customer and she asked me to do up a huge basket of party favors for all of the girls. I think it's the coolest idea. Everyone gets to pick from the assortment, so they will love what they get. Cindy provided her basket and I filled it full of goodies.

Julie (the bride) is using a Starry Night theme for her wedding. So, Cindy chose some Starry Night Kaleidosoap. She also ordered some Starry Night Bath Confetti, Energy Spa Bars, Lime in the Coconut Spa Bars & Energy Shea Butter Lotion. Isn't that so fun? Happy Shower, Julie!!

I'd be so happy to do this for anyone. The favors are $4.50 a piece with a minimum of 20 pieces. The best part is working to customize it for the event. I just love this stuff! Leave me a comment if you have a party coming up!

A Soap? A Moisturizer? Both!

I am a scrub junkie from way back. I used to buy all those scrubs that you'd find in the mall or at department stores. No more. Once I started making soap, I fell in love with making scrubs as well. I love the concept of getting clean and soft in the shower. It's my thing.

So here's the first of two of my fav. scrub products. It's called Sweet Birch Shower Butter and it's really yummy. It's a whipped cleanser loaded with pure cane sugar, sweet almond oil & glycerin. Just imagine being in the shower and scrubbing with a soothing, smoothing, creamy butter. You'll rinse off clean and dry off soft. It's so fun!

Click on my Etsy site to read more. It's currently available in Ginger Lime, Summer Green & Pamplemousse.

I can't believe that I am working on Autumn/Winter products already, but I am. Let me know what your favorite seasonal fragrances are. I love to hear what you are craving!