Tuesday Spotlight: Peppermint Soap and Moisturizer

This Tuesday, our spotlight is shining upon the classic scent of peppermint. Peppermint is a refreshing scent with many aroma therapy benefits and benefits for your skin. Peppermint oil is believed to help one focus, ease anxiety, and boost energy. The smell of peppermint is clean, clear, and fresh. Many also enjoy the cooling tingle that peppermint oil creates on one's skin. The benefits of peppermint oil for the skin include being mildly astringent, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, and soothing. Peppermint oil has been used for centuries to aid in itchy skin, troublesome skin, and skin prone to breakouts. It is also believed to help fight odor.

I especially enjoy using peppermint soap and moisturizer during home pedicures. I soak my feet in a basin of warm water, adding a few drops of peppermint oil and a cup of fresh milk. I soak my feet for twenty minutes, then use a pumice to remove dead skin. I follow with a massage of peppermint moisturizer and end with cozy, soft socks to keep the moisturizer in place. It's a little routine of self-care I indulge in once a month or so.

Peppermint soap and moisturizer would make a wonderful gift for anyone who spends a lot of time on their feet. Create a simple gift with our peppermint soap and moisturizer, a fun pair of cute, fuzzy socks, maybe a coordinating nail polish or two, and a book or magazine the recipient would enjoy. Present it in a vintage enamel basin filled with shredded paper or Excelsior with a heartfelt card, and you have a lovely, affordable gift that makes an impressive presentation.

This week, peppermint soap and moisturizer are 25% off exclusively on the website. No promo code is needed to save; the savings will be applied at checkout. Click the convenient link below to shop for peppermint soap, moisturizer, and all our products. On this seasonal November Tuesday, stay safe, be smart, enjoy the savings, create heartfelt gifts, and keep washing your hands.

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Woodland Shanty: An Exciting New Retail Space

The lovely Allison Toney and me at Woodland Shanty

There are signs across America that the small-town downtown mom-and-pop stores are dying out. As a small business owner, I know I can't compete with big box stores with strong buying power and can sell products consumers want at a steep discount. When I began this journey, I knew I could never sell my products for what giant corporations like Proctor and Gamble sell soap for. Instead, I focused on finding my niche, my people. If you are reading this, thank you for being my people. I found my audience, perfected my product, kept my head down, stayed in my lane, and focused on my people. I have amazing people.

In the last few years, I have observed a small resurrection of small, family-owned businesses filling the empty buildings of our downtown, and I am excited. However, downtown is not the only place where small, family-owned businesses are established. Look outside the perimeters of the downtown area, and you will find some very unique, imaginative, well-run businesses with creative settings, attractive, high-quality merchandise, and exceptional people. The Woodland Shanty is the latest addition to our little community and does not disappoint.

Nick and Allison Toney are a talented young couple who are Woodland Shanty. Nick and Allison create original decorative signs that cover broad themes. Check out their website for the vast array of beautiful home decor they design and produce: https://woodlandshanty.com/. The retail space they have opened in their recently acquired property is even more exciting than their website. Allison generously includes our soaps in her beautiful inventory.

On Friday, we personally delivered a restock request so we could see their new store and say hello. This industrious couple has reimagined a rather nondescript industrial building into something beautiful. When we walked up to their front doors, I said, "Oh, I love their doors!" Eric responded with an eye roll. The main room was stunning when we entered, with a large tree branch suspended in the center and their original artwork and signs displayed from floor to ceiling. Allison has created several rooms, with nooks and niches displaying everything from Taylor Swift t-shirts to home decor items to bath and body products. There was so much to look at; I couldn't take it all in. (I need to return without my husband!)

I purchased a gift for my friend, Jenna, and snowman salt and pepper shakers for GramBarb. However, I fell in love with a pastoral picture perfect for my back hall. Although the weather was less than hospitable, there was a steady stream of shoppers. This lovely little store is well worth the drive outside of town. If you happen to be local to the Indiana area, I strongly encourage you to visit Woodland Shanty at 1700 Sleepy Hollow Road, Indiana, PA 15701. Their hours are Friday and Saturday, 9-4.

I hope you remember the little stores, family-owned businesses, local small businesses, and farm-based businesses this holiday season. Our communities are filled with hard-working, creative, innovative individuals who are trying to support and improve the communities they love. I'm always excited to support and give a shout-out to the amazing small business owners I have the pleasure of meeting. Nick and Allison are good people. I'm sure you will be as impressed with their new retail space as I am.

On this seasonal November day, stay safe, be smart, remember to support local small businesses, and keep washing your hands.

Foodie Friday: Jiffy Corn Casserole

Welcome to the last Foodie Friday before Thanksgiving, dear reader. As I sit thinking about my menu for one of my favorite holidays, I am contemplating changing things up a bit this year. We have a nine-year-old boy on our guest list and several teens. I have decided to make this a very kid-centered Thanksgiving. Rather than have the teens slink off to isolated rooms away from the adults, I am planning activities that will engage everyone and, hopefully, create an atmosphere of fun. I am sure they will resist my attempts to engage them, but I plan to make the activities irresistible.

Easton, my nine-year-old friend, has requested mac and cheese for Thanksgiving. I know many families consider mac and cheese a staple of their holiday meal, but my family is not one of them. However, I welcome new dishes and traditions to our celebration. With a table full of teens, I am sure mac and cheese will be a welcome addition to the meal. I would also like to try an old classic that is new to me: Jiffy corn casserole. My mom used to make a dish she called baked corn, but I was not a fan of the texture or the bland taste. However, a side dish of cornbread casserole will be a welcome addition. Along with mac and cheese and cornbread casserole, I would also like to try a dish called cranberry yum yum. It's a layered sweet dish, almost like pretzel salad, but with cranberries and graham crackers.

Of course, I will include the staples of sausage stuffing, bacon green beans, orange fluff, pumpkin pie, and gob cake. However, adding a few new side dishes will be fun and exciting. My gang does not enjoy the traditional Thanksgiving meal staples. Eric does not care for turkey. Every year, talking him out of roasting a chicken instead of a turkey is a struggle. I don't know why he can't just honor tradition and eat a turkey happily. He eats the turkey I roast without complaint. It is just the weeks building up to Turkey Day that he grumbles and grouses about having to eat turkey. Sigh.

Jordan is a big fan of cornbread, and I think she will like this simple side dish of cornbread casserole. However, getting my picky eater to eat anything besides mashed potatoes, turkey, and gob cake can be challenging. I will do what I did when she was little and sneak a bit onto her plate when she is not looking. I may even bribe her with an extra round of Uno or Skip-Bo to get her to try a new dish.

After reading how difficult my family is about traditional meals, I'm unsure why I get so excited about cooking a Thanksgiving feast. Sigh, maybe they would be happier with Chinese Food. Oh, who am I kidding? We all know it's about me and my happiness; they can eat what I cook and like it!..said with a wicked laugh. When I am old and incapacitated, they can feed me chow mein and tell me it's a special treat. Until then, they can suffer through with my homemade food.

Today, I have decided to share the recipe for cornbread casserole that I will try on Thanksgiving. This dish appears to be very simple, and it sounds delicious. I am looking forward to trying it on the big day. I pulled this directly from the Jiffy website.

Jiffy Cornbread Casserole

Ingredients:

Cooking spray or butter for the baking dish

• 8 tablespoons

  (1 stick) unsalted butter

• 1 (15-ounce) can

  corn kernels

• 8 ounces

  sour cream (1 cup)

• 2

  large eggs

• 1 (15-ounce) can

  creamed corn

• 1 (8.5-ounce) box

  regular or vegetarian Jiffy corn muffin mix

  
  

  Instructions:

  
  

• Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Coat an 8x8-inch or other 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.

• Melt 8 tablespoons unsalted butter in the microwave in a large microwave-safe bowl. (Alternatively, melt on the stovetop and transfer to a large bowl.) Set aside until warm to the touch. Meanwhile, drain 1 (15-ounce) can of corn kernels.

• Add 8 ounces of sour cream and 2 large eggs to the butter and whisk to combine. Add the corn kernels and 1 (15-ounce) can of creamed corn and stir to combine. Add 1 box Jiffy mix and stir until well combined. Pour into the baking dish and smooth the top.

• Bake until the casserole is puffed, slightly browned, and the center is firm, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

  
  

  On this snowy, blowy November day, stay safe and be smart, enjoy good food, food is love, even if it's forced upon people, and keep washing your hands