Sales Alert: Moonlight Madness Sale at Nature's Edge Farm on Etsy

 The shopkeeper may have gone "batty" but the deals are steals, well....practically!

Drop by the  Moonlight Madness Sale  to take advantage of some amazing deals!

Attack of the homegrown tomatoes

Well, it's that time of year again. Whether you planted them or your dear friends and family did, there's bound to be an abundance of homegrown, red-fleshed yumminess in a garden near you. While we are thankful recipients of these prized beauties, there does come a point when the question of  "what the heck are we going to do with all these tomatoes?" does pop into our heads.

My good friend Barb snapped a picture of her beautiful vine-ripening tomato.

One way we like to enjoy them here at our house is paired with a cheese other than usual, boring buffalo mozzarella.  Several years ago while scanning the cheese display at our local fruit market I first caught sight of this lesser known, but infinitely more delicious cheese called, ricotta salata.  It's a bit like feta in texture and taste though not quite as salty. I slice up some big fat, juicy tomatoes, top each slice with a thin cut of ricotta salata and a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or a light vinaigrette. I do occasionally add the obligatory leaf of basil, but it's not necessary. The tomato, cheese and oil (or vinaigrette) make a nice little trio of taste and texture all by themselves. Try this combination sometime and thank me later!

Blog mention on Coffee With The Mrs.: Eye Spy ~ "Greenspiration"

Sweet blogger Amy, "The Mrs." from  Coffee with the Mrs., mentioned my blog today! How nice is that? Amy would like me to be her personal shopper. Now that's a job I would LOVE!!!!!  Please head over to Amy's blog, Coffee With The Mrs.: Eye Spy ~ "Greenspiration", grab a cup of coffee and peruse her lovely corner of the blogosphere!

Thank you again Amy!!!!

Stylin' with my Etsy finds

Here I am modeling 2 handmade products I purchased on Etsy that I adore:

Fo' Shizzle My Sprizzle tee from Ellembee, $34 and
 Coffee Lover  necklace from Artful Goodies, $20
**also take note of my pretty fern that managed to get in the picture**

April from Artful Goodies was kind enough to swap out the silver ballchain and bail for an antique gold finish chain & matching bail! Customization is the norm at most Etsy shops and I love that special perk!

Assignment #1: How safe is your mascara?

Hello Readers,
I was thinking the other night about how to get you acquainted with Skin Deep's Cosmetic Safety Reviews. I decided to give you an assignment. What better way to learn than by doing? I don't know about you but I HAVE to wear mascara. I have itsy bitsy lashes and mascara makes those that I do have look better. For today's assignment, I'd like each of you to go to http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/, find your mascara rating. Then come back here and post the name of your mascara and it's rating in the comments section. I think you'll be surprised at the scores. I know I was!

image source: treehugger.com

I was feeling a bit smug. I admit it. Unfortuanately, my current mascara, Dr. Hauschka volumizing mascara in black had the shoddy score of 6 out of 10.  Keep in mind that a score of zero is the safest rating.

I also use  Physician's Formula Organic Wear 100% Natural Origin Mascara in ultra black organics. Unfortunately I couldn't find the rating for that mascara. If you click the link above you can find out more about this mascara as well as view the full listing of ingredients. Now that I'm aware of of Dr. Hauschka's poor rating, I think I'll switch back to Organic Wear mascara again.

One mascara I would like to try soon is 100% Pure ultra lengthening fruit pigmented mascara. The  mini size is only $12 but is only offered in the color black tea. This mascara is rated as a 2 on Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Review.


I look forward to finding out how your mascaras fared!

Cheer Up, Buttercup!

If this blog is going to be a true reflection of me, then I have to be honest.  Honestly, today I'm feeling a bit blue about my guest blog post on Chic & Green.  It wasn't EXACTLY how I envisioned it appearing. I'm a bit of a perfectionist. It was NOT perfect. I tried to correct it but I'm still feeling a little down in the dumps. I may have just the remedy for this yucky feeling! Let me know if it cheers you up too!

How in the heck can I not smile when this little lover is waiting to
give me all the puppy kisses I can stand?

The Beautiful Project's card promises better days, Good things will happen card, $4.

Did you know Bergamot essential oil is known to be an uplifting scent? Receiving Capricorn Soap Company's Bergamot~Graperfruit luxury gift collection, $33.75 would certainly boost my spirits!

This sweet 8x10 print, $15 from The Wheatfield is sure to inspire a smile or two!

My favorite season is captured perfectly in this 5x7 print entitled,
 Leaf Harvest Road, $15 by Country Dreaming.

A wise friend suggested that if all else fails, there's always chocolate!!!
The Sante Fe Sampler dark chocolate gift box. $24.95
from The Chocolate Smith is sure to melt away my blog worries!

Ooops! Here's what was missing on my Chic & Green guest post

Being new to blogging, I made a few mistakes when sending Karley my guest post for Chic & Green. Uggggh!!!! You missed out on seeing some of the pretty pictures. I can fix that! Please forgive my rookie mistakes :)


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I consider myself a handmade addict in general but a handmade soap addict in particular. I think John from Nature's Edge Farm  would have to agree! He recently referred to me as a "connoisseur of scents". I think that's his polite way of saying I'm a "soap hoarder"! Eh, what the heck, it's true. I have a quite a substantial stash of soap!

Beehive Yourself is palm oil free. It contains locally sourced honey and is pleasantly

scented with lemongrass essential oil, $4 from Nature's Edge Farm

 Also from Nature's Edge Farm,watermelon herb granita 

foaming sugar scrub sounds perfect for late summer, $11 for 12 oz. jar

When I want to give a special baby shower gift, Michigan-based Peanut Tree Designs   is the shop I consitently turn to for baby blankets that both beautiful and functional.

 

Poppies chenille and flannel baby blanket  reminds me of a midsummer's day, 36x36, $32

Another Michigan shop, ellembee, sells sumptious screenprinted tees in a variety of chic patterns. 

I'm the proud owner of this Vintage Damask tee, $32

I'd **like** be the owner of a Burnout Blues tee, $34

Sorry once again for the flubs! 

Have a wonderful day,

 Deanna