Tuesday Spotlight: Almond and Milk

Today, the spotlight shines upon our soap family favorite, Almond and Milk. Almond is our second most popular soap, only taking a backseat to Milk and Honey. Our Almond and Milk bar is a luxurious creation that begins with our farm-fresh goat's milk. Each of our small batches of goat's milk soap begins with almost five pounds of fresh, raw milk from our well-loved ladies. We also use skin-loving oils like olive, coconut, and castor oil for emulsion and lather.

All the ingredients in our soaps can be found in the average pantry. We keep it simple, pure, and non-fussy and make our soaps using tried-and-true ingredients. We don't cut corners and never change ingredients for less expensive options. Frankly, there are enough cheap, chemical-laden products on the market. My soap family deserves the best. If you are here and reading this blog, you are my people, and I will take care of you—pinky promise.

Our Almond and Milk soap and moisturizer smell divine. If you love the scent of almond extract when baking, you will love our almond and milk products. This lovely bar is just as pretty as it is deliciously scented. Almond blossoms inspire the soft pink. Although not on sale this week, our new almond-scented foaming hand soap rounds out our Almond and Milk collection. I gently suggest purchasing all three for a lovely hostess gift, bridal shower gift, or birthday gift. The delightful scent and soft pink are pure femininity. Pair our products with a sweet pink hand towel, an almond-scented candle, and a simple soap deck, and you have the perfect gift.

Stay safe, be smart, enjoy the savings, and keep washing your hands on this gorgeous summer-like day.

We Appreciate You

Saturday was the opening day at The Ligonier Country Market. This is our eighth year as vendors at the market, and with every year, we have grown more appreciative of our soap family. I remember our very first market. We have definitely learned a lot while attending this fantastic market, and we are grateful to those who take on leadership roles for creating such a well-run, well-organized, and well-attended market. We always say that Ligonier Country Market has spoiled us for all other shows, and it remains true.

There are so many things I love about The Ligonier Country Market. First, it's the people. This market is filled with great people, from the organizers to the vendors to the market attendees. I have stated before that the handmade community is an exceptional group. We have made some wonderful friends at the market. Two of my besties, Tricia Brown and Christina Moore, have become cherished and trusted friends. We also have a lovely circle of wonderful friends, including Carlene, Pat and Sherry, Pamela Jean, Sharon, Sue and Julia. Being surrounded by these people makes my Saturday enjoyable. However, we also have so many outstanding soap family members we look forward to seeing regularly. These wonderful people make what we do worthwhile, and we have a running list of people we look forward to seeing almost every week. Anne, Robbie, Kelly, Jeanette, Gus-Gus, and Linds are just a few of the people we look forward to seeing. I don't think many business owners have such wonderful supporters who have become friends. In this, we are truly blessed.

Another reason I love The Ligonier Country Market is the venue. The event space is easy to maneuver, and we get to keep our vehicle at our tent site (you cannot imagine how much easier and more convenient this small detail makes a vendor's life). This year, the site markers are brighter and clearer than they have been in the past. We like to arrive at 6 a.m. so that we don't have to fight traffic to get to our spot and we can be set up in a timely manner. The setting is gorgeous, and when the weather cooperates, you can't ask for a better setting for a country market. We have had a variety of neighbors over the years, and most of them have become part of our friend circle. The vendors at LCM always impress me with their artistry and professionalism.

Thank you to everyone involved in making The Ligonier Country Market a warm, friendly, and welcoming place. In our eighth year, we continue to feel the love from you, our soap family. In the early days of being a vendor, I was a nervous wreck on market day. Now, eight years later, my anxiety is assuaged. Still, I continue to feel the desire to improve, make your shopping experience as personal and unique as possible, and show you the care and service you deserve. You will always come first. If the day ever comes that this is not my why, I will graciously bow out because I will no longer be serving you. I don't see that happening anytime soon.

If you have an opportunity to join us on a Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon, it is worth the early hours and the traffic. A few tips to make your market day enjoyable are to come early, dress in layers, wear your cutest, most comfortable market outfit, and bring your appetite and plenty of cash. You will find most vendors accept cards, Venmo, Apple Pay, etc., but small business owners get charged exorbitant fees for card transactions. Many of my vendor friends have implemented minimal amount purchases to accept cards and service charges to counterbalance the exorbitant costs. For example, if you use a card to purchase an $8 bar of soap, we actually lose money on that transaction. It's a difficult situation for small business owners. Of course, we want to offer convenience, and we understand that many use their cards to receive cash-back rewards, but please remember that most of us are too small to absorb the fees most POS providers charge. We aren't greedy or trying to be difficult; we are merely trying to protect ourselves. This year, the market has provided a bank trailer complete with an ATM for shopper's convenience. However, fees are incurred from using the ATMS as well. My gentle advice is to be proactive and get cash before coming to the market.

Thank you to our soap family for your years of support. You have made our early Saturday mornings a reason to smile. "We appreciate you" is not enough, but please know truer words were never spoken. We look forward to another market season of good people, jokes, and laughter, growing our soap family, and serving you. On this summer-like day, stay safe and be smart; thank you for your support; please join us on Saturdays, and keep washing your hands.

Fruit Bowls: The Bean's Latest Trend

I have lamented that The Bean would live solely on Swiss Rolls, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and Mac N Cheese. Recently, she has become a bit more brave with food experimentation. When my daughter embraces a trend, I usually sit back and wait for it to pass. However, her new fascination with fruit bowls is something I have embraced wholeheartedly. I was bombarded with pictures of fruit bowls she found on Pinterest for days. "Mom, look how pretty this looks!" or "Mom, can you buy me a dragon fruit?" or the ever-popular phrase that leads to unprecedented levels of excitement, "I AM SO EXCITED FOR FRUIT BOWLS!!!!" Many conversations with my child begin with, "I am so excited for...insert almost anything: Christmas, Summer, Florida, the musical, etc. Her level of enthusiasm is part of her quirky little charm. I love that girl.

Currently, she is so excited about fruit bowls. Embracing this new level of enthusiasm for fresh fruit is something I will do with enthusiasm. In the last two weeks, we have eaten two fresh pineapples, mangoes, dragon fruit, kiwi, cotton candy grapes, oranges, grapefruit, apples, and an Asian pear. There is no recipe, dear reader. We work together to cut up new and unusual fruit and arrange it on a plate or bowl to create a display that is "so pretty!" and we enjoy it.

I make her a small, personal fruit plate before she comes home from school, set it in the refrigerator, and she happily snacks on it while she tells me about her day. She is not fond of all the new fruits we have tried. She has declared that mango tastes good but has a weird texture. Oranges are only acceptable sliced thinly. Dragon fruit shall never darken our door again. Asian pears are too grainy. However, pineapple is a newly accepted delicacy. Grapefruit is okay. The old standards of grapes and apples, red, not green, and crispy, not mushy, continue to be favorites. I can't say I am surprised that she does not care for many new and exotic fruits, but the fact that she is willing to try them makes me happy.

Her enthusiasm for fresh fruit has been contagious. I now crave fresh fruit for lunch or a snack. The Bibbed Wonder finds himself snacking on grapes rather than chips. I always keep a bowl of washed fruit in the refrigerator, which has become our go-to. I am not sure how long this fresh fruit trend will last. However, while my child is on a healthy food kick, I will encourage her. She is now "so excited to go to the grocery store!" I wish I could muster that much enthusiasm for grocery shopping, but it's not in me.

Although I never saw a fresh fruit trend coming, it now gives me hope that she might someday embrace the room cleaning, doing the dishes, or putting away laundry trends. It would be music to my ears to have her exclaim with glee, "I am so excited to vacuum!" It's a long shot, but one can dream. Kids today are so weird, said with a smile.

As we move into warmer weather and our growing season, I encourage you to eat locally. Soon, fresh strawberries will be available, followed by blueberry season. Your local farmer's market will soon be stocked with fresh local produce. Support your local farmers and shop local produce stands and small markets. Ask them about their growing practices. Farmers are almost always happy to talk shop. The locally grown strawberries cannot be compared to the large, whitish, flavorless berries you buy in big box stores. Find a pick your own field of strawberries or blueberries and spend a few hours in nature picking your own fruit. It's fun and a great thing to do with kids. Stutzman's Blueberry Farm will open for the season in late June or early July. One will not find more beautiful scenery than overlooking the blueberry fields of Stutzman's Blueberry Farm on RTE. 422. Berries are great frozen; if you're returning to grassroots, turn them into home-canned preserves and enjoy them throughout the year. It's important that we not lose the practices and knowledge of those who came before us. I told my bib overall wearing wonder buns that we will set aside some time to preserve this year. I believe he said okay, but it was the kind of okay he uses to placate me and shut me up. He does that a lot.

So, on this gloriously sunny day, stay safe, be smart, enjoy fresh fruit, eat local when possible, be an adventurous eater, and keep washing your hands. Oh! I hope to see you on opening day at Ligonier Country Market! Enjoy over 100 farmers, producers, artisans, and small businesses.