Swirly Girl

Back in April, I was lucky enough to attend a seminar taught by Lori Nova. She is one of the soaper rock stars that I'd learned about when I was doing my bubble research. Lori is out in California and she owns The Nova Studio, where she teaches the craft of soapmaking and other bath & body techniques. She is knowledgeable, nice & super sweet!

Her seminar was fantastic. She took all of us in the room (about 75 for the 2nd seminar) through the step-by-step process of creating CP soap. From oil temps to colorants & fragrance options all the way to the actual swirl, she was thorough and clear. She also answered a lot of questions. It was a great class! BTW, isn't her apron darling?

Armed with the packet that Lori handed out and a picture in my mind's eye, I decided to give it a go. I chose to go very basic with a Lavender bar. Have you all tried BB's Lavender de Provence? It's soo yummy. I've never been a Lavender lover, but this is just perfect. Anyway, here's a look at my first batch. Although I would use a darker color next time, I'm so psyched about the actual swirl. I wish I'd taken a picture of my novice batch from last winter. ick.

My Love You Lavender Swirl will be available on Etsy by June 20th. ;)

Hi-Ho-Hi-Ho To TKD I Go!

I'm off to my first TaeKwonDo Class. All of my kids and my husband out rank me when we're there! Wish me luck!! Stay tuned for the full description of my experience. (Here's some inside info... I'm not a jock!)

Share Some Pamplemousse With Your BFF!

Yay! Time for another giveaway!!! With all of the love I've been getting about the Pamplemousse (see here & here!) I think it's the perfect fragrance for a One Bubble Giveaway! Pamplemousse is a yummy, revitalizing blend of tart, sweet pink grapefruit & a tiny hint of floral! You'll love it! Promise!

Spring is here, the grass is green... time to pamper yourself and your favorite girlfriend with some yummy, skin-loving products from Twin Birch Bath & Body! If you are the lucky winner, you'll receive an 8 oz tub of Birch Bliss Shower Butter, a 10 oz Pure Soy Candle, handcrafted Artisan Soap & a fun 3 pack of Birch Bliss Bath Bombs which are infused with softening unrefined Shea Butter! Each bomb weighs about 5 oz and offers lots of fizz & fragrance! Our Shower Butter is delish! Complete with a little sugar & sparkle, you'll be clean, soft & dazzling! And make sure you set the mood by lighting our beautiful soy candle! You'll have no choice but to make time to care for your skin & spirit!! I promise to package it beautifully! After all, we all deserve a fabulous gift!

Here's the plan: email a link of this post to your favorite girlfriends and have them leave a comment with your name in it! Then, you leave a comment as well... say whatever you feel like saying... and you'll be entered! Next month is my birthday month! I'll be 41 on 6/22. Soooo,
I'll pick the winners with some of those numbers in mind... :) I'll pick a pair of friends on the 15th!! I'll take care of everything after that! So fun!

Can't wait to see who wins!

Over My Dead Body?

I kind of mentioned our Little League snafu here. Time for the whole story. We missed the Little League tryouts for Peter, our 2nd born. He's 10. He loves sports! He wanted to play baseball in the worst way. Gerry had jury duty with one of the Board members who told him to call the president because they were short players and he was sure they would love Peter on one of the teams. Great!

So, Gerry made the call and got a big, fat "NO!" The person on the phone, who I respect for all of their work in the community and their dedication to Little League, said that even though practice hadn't started yet and they only had 11 kids on each of the 5 teams, (they can have up to 15 kids, so that's 20 spots, right?) they'd had tryouts and he wasn't there, so no way.

Well, Gerry didn't do what a lot of parents (including me) would have done. His son wanted to play baseball and he wanted to help him! So he made a boat load of phone calls. He called coaches, other board members, other parents... really he was amazing. The great thing was that EVERYONE else was supportive of Peter playing ball. After a long 2 week battle and rumors of some not so nice things being said, the board voted 6-2 to open tryouts again for everyone.

Sadly, the notice didn't make it into the paper. I still don't get that.

We did know about the tryouts and, happily, Peter did get to join the A's and he is having a blast. So are we! Who knew how much fun a sunny Saturday morning baseball game could be? Thanks to Gerry and a bunch of other great grown-ups, we do!! Next year, I'm going to make sure that everyone I know, knows when tryouts are!! I'm kind of a loud-mouth! :)

Thank You, Joanna @ The Soap Bar!!

Joanna Schmidt is a super-cool, super-sweet soapmaker, entrepeneur & mom in Florida who I've come to know from reading her very fun blog, The Soap Bar. She owns Product Body, which is an amazing bath & body company offering the yummiest products ever!

The other day she sent me an email to let me know that she liked the bar of Pamplemousse that I sent her way. There was a link, too. I clicked and... wow! She wrote a wonderful post about Pamplemousse and Twin Birch! I did a very geeky happy dance~don't tell! And immediately emailed the post to my hubby & sibs, girlfriends and notable others. It is the nicest, best feeling to read such kind words from Joanna! Check out my post about her delicious Product Body line. Check out her Product Body site. Check out the post about Twin Birch Pamplemousse! Oh, and go read The Soap Bar and Product Body Blog. They are so fun!

Thanks, Joanna! Woo Hoo! :) By the way, you can find my Pamplemousse & SoapCakes on Etsy!