This Little Piggy

My life with Gerry is never boring. We seem to have a routine. He comes up with a new idea, I fret and sputter with some objections. He patiently helps me to see his way. We do whatever it is and I end up thinking it's the greatest idea ever. This happened when he wanted to add softball practice to our schedule. It also happened when he thought we should join Tae Kwon Do. And when he thought we should get chickens

Well, it's happening again. This time it's piggies. Gerry thinks we should raise two pigs and supply ourselves with some homegrown pork. At first I was mortified. I'm no farm girl and I don't want to have a "pet" that we then serve for dinner. At least that was my first reaction. After a visit to the Earthwise Farm & Forest, though, I can see the beauty in offering these pigs a really wonderful life and then appreciating the gift of their meat. I think that's how I feel, anyway. I'll have to keep you all posted on this latest adventure. If nothing else, Gerry knows how to keep it *fresh*!

Jitters

I'm so excited about having hours at the store! I'm in a mad dash to fill wholesale orders and get everything ready for opening on Thursday. I can't wait to be in there and enjoying the space. It's sunny and beautiful and just the right atmosphere. I'll get some pictures of the new digs as soon as I can. Wishing you lots of fun on these beautiful Spring Days!

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!

I'm Sorry, Did You Say Ten Thousand?

WOOT!! I couldn't believe my ears when one of my clients said that he was talking to a colleague about my soap and they want to place a ten thousand piece order! I am channeling my inner Bob the Builder (Can we make it? YES WE CAN!!) None of the specifics are ironed out and I'm super~superstitious, so I'm not counting any chickens yet. But I'm so incredibly excited! I just had to share! :) Cross your fingers for me!!!In other news, Max continues to heal from his neck injury. Every time he lifts his head in a funny way I hold my breath, but so far so good. Really, he's back to his old (crazy puppy) self in so many ways. He chewed through his lead in 57 seconds while we were with the vet for a check up. *SIGH* (smile)

Feel the Love Friday Giveaway in a Perfect Way

Happy Weekend, everyone! I hope you all are enjoying a fun, easy Saturday. We are going to watch a Dartmouth Football game this afternoon. They are playing Brown. Is a little rainy but I'm hoping for a miracle clearing of the skies. That would be perfect.

Speaking of perfect, I am head over heels for Perfect Pumpkin. It's a great seasonal fragrance! I'm not huge on the sweet scents, so this is just right for me. It has a little spice and there's something about it that keeps is from being icky sweet. It also has that fresh pumpkin~in~a~good~way thing about it. I made up little gift sets with a lotion, body wash and little butterfly pouf. They've done super well at the craft fairs and I thought it would be a great give away item.Congrats to Michele at Soapy Elephant. She wins a little set to enjoy~hope she does! Michele~ send me your addy at twinbirch(at)verizon(dot)net and I'll get it out within the week! Y'all ;) should check our Michele's blog and her etsy shop. She makes some really pretty soap at Soapy Elephant and.. does she make the pretty jewelry at Girl Lavender, too?! So talented!

Get your own sets at Twin Birch on Etsy. They are a great value~ and come in fun fragrances!

Feel the Love Friday Giving Away in a Peaceful Way

I'm heading out to other craft show this weekend. Boy, the holidays sure are crazy, aren't they??
In that vein, I thought that this weeks giveaway should offer a little Peace to life. This bar is just the ticket. It smells sooo yummy. Clean, fresh~ kind of like a crisp winter day. You can get your very own at Twin Birch at Etsy.

Unless you are Pajama Mama, then I'm sending it to you for free!! Send me your addy, girlie!!
I can't wait to ship it! And go see her blog. She's adorable!

Happy Weekend! :)

ding dong!

Well, I've fallen in love! I can't spend enough time watching our 10 little hens as they wander about our yard and have their little chicken day. There is even a little Comet hen who thinks she's my pet. She runs to me a-clucking & a-chatting every time I go out to feed them, etc. Love it!


Last week we had our first snowy day. Here are a couple of peeks at some of the snow we had last year. Here & here (I didn't handle it well) So, all of my 10 hens decided that they'd rather be in than out. This is the sight I saw when I went out to do a little errand running. I'd be ok with it, except for the poo. Chickens are good for lots of poo. Not so charming.

Halloween Fun in the 'Hood

Here are a couple of pix from our Halloween Escapades this year. The trick or treating was capped off with a little party at our friend's house. I'm going out on a limb by posting the back side shot of the lederhosen. Please note that no names are mentioned as we are committed to protecting the identity of this well respected pediatrician in our hometown of Randolph, Vermont.

Cora was Cutie Devil Girl. Ella was Sleeping Beauty. Peter was Tom Brady's bodyguard and Austen was Injured Tom Brady. I was a Witch(quite a stretch) and Gerry was Randy Moss with a creepy mask. It was a blast. Oh, and do notice our friends dressed as Betty & Barney Rubble along with Sarah Palin. Aren't they adorable? ;)

Bubbles are Beautiful

I still love this little spot that I put together on animoto.com

Featured on Little Window Shoppe

I'm blushing and happy today. I received an email from Emily Norton of Little Window Shoppe.com. Her site is the greatest spot for browsing through adorable shops & sweet products.
Anyway, she wrote a blog post about Halloween products and featured my Boo the Ghost soaps and my Hauntingly Adorable Halloween Ducks. *big smile*

Here's what Emily says about her fun sight:
"Little Window Shoppe was created to highlight sweet shoppes and charming ideas in order to promote Shoppe and Boutique owners (with thousands of viewer each week), as well as help Window Shoppers find delightful ideas. "

Delightful is the word. Click over there, click around and be ready to smile with delight! Thanks, Emily! Happy Halloween!

Feel the Love *REALLY* Friday Giveaway Week 4

I know, it's Saturday morning! I woke up, slapped myself on the forehead and said, "Oh s#@t!"
Sorry!

So, this weeks giveaway is about sharing the love with the one that you love. My Birch Bedroom
Massage Melts are such a natural, softening, yummy way to deliver *or receive* a great massage!
Let's face it, most of us are running around like maniacs with work, family & life. I'm not saying that's bad, I think it's uber fun. I also believe it makes the quiet times that much sweeter.

So, this week's winner of the Feel the Love *REALLY* (Saturday) Giveaway is......
Sherrie G. from Birch Bark Soap. Sherrie makes the prettiest soap! She's up in Nova Scotia being inspired by birch trees just like me!! Click over & peek at her soaps. You'll love them!
Hope you love the melts, Sherrie! Go ahead, rub it in! ;)

Sherrie, email me your addy~ twinbirch(at)verizon(dot)net. Yay! Happy Saturday, everyone!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like.....

CHRISTMAS!!!! This is my fav. bar of soap du jour! I'm calling it Vermont Spruce. It's a nod to the beautiful conifers that surround us here in the Northeast and also a tip of the hat to you-know-when! CHRISTMAS!!!! The idea of putting the trees on the bars came to me out of the blue and about 6 degrees from stirring time during the lye/oil cool down. I just love it, though.
And the fragrance is great. Fresh spruce on a crisp winter's day... breathe in and escape to the woods. Yum.

I'm bringing these to the Essex Craft Fair next weekend, but I'll have several batches for sale on etsy in the next few weeks. If you're interested, leave me a comment and I'll reserve your bars.
Ho, ho, ho! :)

.... And, Action! Twin Birch's Made In Vermont TV Debut

I was reminded yesterday how fun it is to challenge yourself and step out of your comfort zone! It's damn fun! I got a message from Jack Thurston, a reporter from WCAX our CBS station in Burlington. Jack does a great weekly feature called "Made in Vermont". He had happened upon my Boo the Ghost soaps and wanted to come to the Bubble Lab on Friday morning to do a piece on Twin Birch. Here's what went through my head for the first 3 seconds: "OMG!" "ME?!" "I'm not ready for that" "I'm not sure about this" "Are you kidding?" I very quickly switched to, "YAY!!!!" "This is going to be so fun!" "Waaaaah Hooooooo!"

I was a little nervous, but my sweet girlfriends, Ramsey & Beth and her daughter Emiline were all here to offer support. Gerry also came home from work. Seeing him here was instantly calming. *big smile* Plus, my other sweet girlfriend, Jennifer showed up on Thursday and whipped this place into a "camera~ready" work area. I also got phone calls & emails galore from even more sweet girlfriends (I am a lucky girl!)

Jack and his camera woman, Robin, were really fun to work with. They were great to have here and the morning included plenty of laughter. In the end, it was pretty easy and a total blast!!

Here's a look: (please forgive the commercial!)


I LOVED seeing my soap on TV! That was the best part! So, bye~bye comfort zone... I'm ready for more adventure! Thanks to Jack & Robin, you guys are the greatest!