Skip to main content

Let the Holidays Begin

It's the start of the Holiday Season!  Here in KC, it has gotten very cold and damp but no snow yet.  Some if my friends have already finished - yes I said finished - their Christmas shopping.  Although I love them, these people are what I would consider somewhat on the crazy side, since I usually finish my shopping and wrapping approximately 24 hours before sundown Christmas Eve at best!  Maybe this year will be different........sigh.  I am definitely feeling the Holiday Cheer coming on so it's all good!

I haven't been able to keep up with the photos as I would like to here, but I'm always checking on my friends and followers to see what y'all are up to.  This year I am hosting Thanksgiving and we expect 20-25 folks to come eat in our modest little home. 12 of these are simply our children and their spouses or SO's, which will make this very special for all of us.  I drove a hard bargain on this as installing a new stove and oven was part of my agreement to host.  If my hubby had it his way, we would have a minimum of 10-15 people over every weekend, but I'm more reserved than that.  So the stove is in, and a 20 pound turkey is waiting to christen this the first holiday of the Frigidaire!  This will be the first TG that my daughters are all participating in the cooking as adults, which is going to be fun!  I've been trying to bump up the cooking the last few days, getting a feel for this convection oven, etc.

Next up, I have a vendor event Dec 7 that will be the final one this year, and will be putting together gift sets and final touches on my products this weekend.  I'm looking forward to it, it's a unique and special time with friends. And finally, my youngest daughter graduates from K-State on Dec 14, and will leave with her fiance immediately after! He is taking her to Colorado, where they will be settling into their first place together. They will be home for Christmas, but back to CO for job hunting and wrapping up details for their wedding here next summer.  All in all, a busy Holiday Season for us all!  It's amazing how things have evolved in our family, as two separate families have blended into one solid unit over the last few years. The difficult times were certainly worth it, and the "kids" are starting their own families and traditions now.  (Tear and sniff)! I should probably watch some Hallmark Holiday Movies today...Have a great weekend, everyone!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Balancing the Possibilities

Many soapers like myself aren't living the dream of operating a full time soap business.  We have other types of work and careers that must remain top priority to pay the bills and keep our families going.  Those of us who are taking a shot at soaping as a side business have to squeeze out the extra time for it in rather creative ways. We can't be profitable if we aren't working at it several hours a week.  I'd venture to say many of us are in that same boat. I've done alot of thinking this weekend about moving forward in a new marketplace this season, and had another wonderful opportunity offered out of the blue.  Lots of exciting things are happening, but this also brings with it a degree of fear and anxiety for me.  I have a wonderfully supportive husband, but why do I immediately worry about failing?  I swear I have a dozen batches of soap curing right now and lots more already packaged and waiting, but still I fear I "won't have enough"!  When I...

Lots of experiments

Today I got the chance to indulge in soaping for most of the day.  I did four batches today, using a technique I've never tried before, courtesy of a great   Youtube tutorial from SophiasNaturals .  She demonstrates an interesting form of thermal transfer that I haven't seen, immediately mixing the lye water into the hard oils until melted.  The liquid oils are added after.  I used this method for all my soaping today and it seemed to work well.  I didn't need to use the stick blender very much at all, which helped me tremendously as I often tend to overmix.  I wanted to attempt the "Holly Swirl", which is basically an in the pot swirl done twice.  Sorta..  I had a lot of half bottles of fragrances, so I did some custom scent blending, too. It was a day of experimenting. Top:  Small batch trying  Sweet Cakes "Aria" .  I used a some ruby mica for a cute little swirl.  It smells so good right now. Middle:  This wa...

Gearing up for Market Season

Eucalyptus Spearmint           It's finally feeling like spring...in typical Kansas/Missouri fashion, it was 80 degrees on Saturday and dropped to 35 by Sunday night! Nevertheless, the farmers market season is fast approaching - only two more weeks.  These babies are curing as we speak and smell out of this world.  I've still got to paint my metal display pieces and I should be good to go.  I have so many ideas in my head I can't seem to narrow them down to try in real life.  Last year was my first experience in the market venue and, while I got lots of compliments on my set up, I'd really like to increase my sales this year.         I've heard it said that you should design your market space just as you would in a store or boutique.  To me, I think simplicity is the way to go in a market setting.  My plan this year is to have one unwrapped bar of each scent displayed up front, and baskets with the packaged...