Vintage Finds and Handcrafted Soap

As I moved into my adult years I discovered my passion for vintage, primitive and antique furniture and other collectables. Show me something very old and I generally go ga-ga over it. When I bought this house I was looking for an older home with rooms that still held some of their old-time charm. I got it, alright, along with the problems that come with it. This old house = money pit, but I love the house and there could be worse things than a work in progress, correct? I am very happy. And very glad this old house is a part of my life.

Some of you already know my passion for soap began at a young age, around 8 years old, when I bought a "ball" of very primitive soap. I will tell that story again some day. I bought all kinds of soap throughout my childhood. Soap was an inexpensive thing to spend money on, thankfully! In my adult years I still bought different soap here and there, but mainly the Yardley variety that could be purchased at the neighborhood drug store. But then...I found it!

It was about 15 years ago when I was shopping in my favorite small Indiana town. I walked into the herb shop. I was admiring the scent of sage, eucalyptus, and other dried herbs, and I saw it. I saw the vintage butcher block table (very similar to the one pictured above) with handcrafted soap stacked on top. And for all of those years (since my high school days) I had no idea what the fragrance was called, but that bar of soap had it. I read the index card next to the soap, patchouli. Patchouli! The bars were not cut in a straight fashion, definitely hand cut, definitely handmade, yellow to tan in color, and smelled devine. The bars were not wrapped. A stack of brown paper bags was provided. I think you could buy 5 bars, get the 6th free. Oh yes, I bagged up 6 bars! My heart was thumping...this was exactly what I had been looking for, and I had just realized it. This was THE soap!

To this day I do not know who made that soap. I know it was good. It was wonderful on my skin. I did not leave it in the bathroom for my kids to use (bad me)! Besides that, as I said a few days ago, patchouli is a love or hate essential oil. I returned to the shop 3 or 4 times a year to make my soap purchase. There was also a soap shop down the path. They sold every kind of soap imaginable. Boxed soap, soap made somewhere else, many looked mass-made, interesting to me...but it definitely did not resemble the rustic handmade soap that I had learned to love. I never spent a dime on soap in that shop.

That is when I decided to make my own soap. That is when I started reading and learning. To this day, I am still on the natural path. I love boxing my soaps in brown Kraft boxes, stamped with my Annie's Goat Hill logo. I love the simple labels. If I could sell you soap over the internet off of an old worn primitive butcher block table, I would.

We all have our own styles, and I appreciate each and every one...but this was the beginnings to mine. I can see it and smell it. And I am crazy about it!

How about you, special passions or talents that you discovered, sparked through something simple, simple as handcrafted soap sold on a worn vintage table?

Plans and More Plans

Welcome to my corner of the office.

I am feeling better today. But somehow I woke at 2:30 a.m., and have not been asleep since. My face is beginning to lose the Frankenstein monster look. My vision is slightly out of sorts, ibuprofen does that to me after a few days of regular doses. So, the hubby took me to the grocery this morning. That felt rather silly, but oh well, things will improve, and I was grateful. Again, I am writing from the phone, waiting for the start of today's headache to slip away.

The remainder of today (and during some of my own quiet wee hours) included planning a new business. Bob has been unemployed for well over a year. So, we are putting our creative juices into action to put him back to work. I can dig it. I love business planning. I am of the type that likes to learn as much as possible so I can act as a resource when needed, and when I can be creative it really sparks me.

We will find a way to beat this economy...I am determined! One thing I seldom do is lose confidence in the silver lining, there always is one. Prayer is amazing. And I strongly believe things happen for a reason, ears and eyes open!

Have you had to be creative with work as well?

Under The Weather

I am writing from my phone again today...fingers crossed that the post works out!

Took some photos earlier this morning of my beautiful rose blooms. I love to grow roses. I am very excited to have found a spot where they are flourishing.

I am under the weather. I look like a bad advertisement for Botox. No wrinkles on the right side of my face, but it looks like it is going to spill out some collagen soon, pop, LOL. To make a long story a bit shorter, what was a terrific headache last week turned into an infected sinus, and now it is working its way down the face. It generally hurts to lay my head down, which makes for poor sleep. But this afternoon I am getting a lovely break. It feels better to rest my head. Ha, ha, ha...I think I will live.

Today I did make a batch of patchouli blend soap. I have always been a patchouli fan. Patchouli is one of those fragrances that people either truly love, or hate with much disgust. Patchouli essential oil was too expensive to buy for a while, and some suppliers quit selling it for a while. I am glad it is back! FYI...we might experience a similar issue with peppermint essential oil soon due to a bad crop overall.

Anyhow...that is the latest. Oh...I wanted to add, I hardly ever get sick. But I am allowing antibiotics this time. A person needs to be well (to breathe, chew, and smile).

Going to hit send now...wish me luck!

Product Monday - New Lotion Size

As announced in the June newsletter, some of my goat milk lotion fragrances are now available in 16 oz. bottles, with a handy pump top. Lavender and unscented are the first in stock, with more to be added in the upcoming weeks. And, if you want a scent in particular that you do not see on the site, you can always drop me an email, I will be more than happy to try to help ( anniesgoathill@gmail.com).

I have been testing the larger (than normal 8 oz.) bottle out myself. I love it! Having a bottle with a pump leaves me hands free after stepping out of the bath or shower, which is leaving me less likely to skip the moisturizing step this mature skinned woman needs. Oops, yep, I said it, mature skin. :)

I am having a beautiful Monday here. Got up with the chickens, before sunlight hit, made lotion before 7:00 A.M. . Crazy goat lady I am! Accomplished a lot, and now I am being treated with a beautiful day with work behind me. Hope you enjoy the day too!

New Product-Peppermint and Pumice

I am focusing and catching up with odds and ends on the website, on the blog, and in the shop today! It feels super to make progress!

As announced in the June newsletter, the new product has arrived, Peppermint and Pumice:

Most of us deal with rough spots on our feet. Calluses and rough spots can be less than pretty, but can also make us uncomfortable in our shoes as well.

One of the best pampering remedies I have found for the problem is to soak my feet, or even take a long bath, and then use a pumice stone to gently slough off the rough spots.

Followed up immediately with an application of cooling and soothing peppermint goat milk lotion.

Next, a pair of white cotton socks goes on the feet, and then...relax!

This is one special treatment, especially when shutting down at the end of the day. Your feet will love you for it, and the next day you reap the benefits. Soft feet!

Peppermint and Pumice is available in the goat milk soap store under gift sets and/or lotion. The product is packaged in a cellophane bag, raffia tied.

What is it, blah?!

What is it?

Isn't that a very general question?

The photo represents a general feeling towards all of the hype. Are you tired of the hype too?

I do not watch a lot of television, but I do watch a bit of the morning news (out of Cincinnati) and a few movies here and there. Yesterday I vegged out, which I do not do often. I watched Uncle Buck, twice. I miss John Candy. I am certainly not ashamed to admit I like some of the old corny things in life.

The news and other newsy channels, and media, seem to be filled with constant trash, constant repeats, and the running down of anyone and everyone it can get its hands on.

I realize the situation regarding Michael Jackson, or the death of any famous person (which I feel should be a very private thing), can be tragic, but what is up with the hype? Here we go again...Palin is going to resign, and possibly move on to other things? Okay, more power to her. I may or may not agree with their lifestyle or pursuits, but aren't we all created equally?

Perhaps I am living in a fairy tale world, but I do not feel like idolizing any single human being. People are talented, and I admire their God given talents. People should expand upon their own talents, the passions are there for a reason. But to idolize a human, or even to chop up, or cut down, why is that necessary?

What do you think, it is all about making money? I love social media, and I love media in general, we can learn a lot in today's society, but do we know too much, too fast, too often?

We can shut off the television, no doubt about it. We can turn off our radios as well. But I do think we need a certain amount of current event knowledge under each of our belts. Learning and soaking in of information goes back to the beginning of time, even then people were not recluses. They visited and travelled about, on foot.

I am not bitter, not at all, I simply get tired of it all from time to time. I am not impressed. Do you feel the same? I would love to see the focus shift to really positive things, and I believe there is a lot still out there!

I am hitting the publish post key NOW. This is one of those posts where I keep thinking, erase Mary, erase, but then, I will probably be proven wrong again. I would love to hear your comments.

Happy 4th of July!

Whatever you do, wherever you go, I wish you a happy and safe 4th of July!