Protect That Fabulous Face

Winter is upon us - at least in a good portion of the country. Today there's a wonderfully fluffy snow storm going on. Looks so pretty, feels so icy when heading out to shovel or play. We all know the drill - bundle up, dress in layers, keep your hands and feet dry. If we're smart, we remember the lip balm to protect our delicate lips from moisture loss. Do we remember, though, to change up our face and skin moisturizers?


Here's a few tips to keep your skin safe and glowing throughout the winter:

• Keep it dry. Freezing temperatures will ice up moisture on your face, damaging and drying your skin. 
• But keep it moist...urized. Wear a moisturizer that's slightly heavier than you might normally, especially if you're going to be outside for any extended period of time. This will provide a buffer against the wind and cold. Our lotion bars are perfect for this kind of weather. They might be too heavy for your face, though. Try the Jazzy Lavender Body Butter. Thick, but whippy and refreshing. Whatever your choice, cover up before you go out. Then clean and remoisturize when you come in,
• When you wash your skin, use warm water, not hot. Hot water will actually dry your skin. I know, hot sounds lovely, but it will really damage more than help.
• Remember to exfoliate. You can use our sugar scrubs for your body, and our Honey Pumpkin Face Mask is wonderful for your face. It removes dead skin cells and opens up your skin to accepting good moisture.

Don't be afraid to get out there and ski, play or just walk the dog. But do it right and it will be easy to slip right into spring.

Playing With Pancakes

I can't help it. I'm a recipe diddler. I don't think I've ever just taken a recipe and followed it without any alteration. But there are some things I'm getting better about - I write down my changes. This way, I know if I've tried something and how it turned out.

Here is the original recipe, with the alterations I made. They were wonderful and fluffy and so very yummy. The second time I made them - still messing with the recipe - I added blueberries and drizzled them with vanilla honey.

Fluffy Pancakes
Ingredients:

Yield: 8 pancakes Mine made about 17 medium size

1 1/4 cups flour
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar (my alteration – 1 ½ tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon maple sugar)
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder (my alteration – add ½ teaspoon baking soda)
1 egg
1 1/3 cups milk (my alteration – 1 and almost 1/3 cups milk, finish up to 1/3 with vinegar – I used a pear cinnamon balsamic)
3 tablespoons oil (I used Grapeseed)
(add 1 tablespoon buttermilk powder)

Directions:

1 In a small bowl, whisk milk, egg, and oil together.
2 In a larger bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
3 Slowly add liquid mixture to dry mixture and whisk well. Let sit for 5 minutes.
4 Spray large frying pan with cooking spray, and heat to medium heat.
5 Wait until pan gets nice and hot.
6 Make pancakes whatever size you wish-- allowing top to form bubbles before turning over.
7 Cook until both sides are golden brown.

Serve with maple syrup, or whatever you wish to put on your pancakes! These can be frozen and toasted in the toaster to be reheated.

Now if you were to ask me how I came up with these changes - well, I couldn't really tell you. We had wanted pancakes, so I looked up a few recipes on line and fond a few that sounded interesting. I probably blended two together. Then I looked around my kitchen. I love maple flavor, so that's where the maple sugar came in. We love buttermilk pancakes, so that's why the powdered buttermilk. One of the recipes I read added vinegar. But why add plain old vinegar if you have something interesting. That's how it fell together.

So play with those recipes. It may not always work - but you might find magic! Just remember to write it down.

A Little Perspective If You Please

I relish this time of year. Although the nights are growing longer, the days will soon begin to lengthen again. There is an exhilarating rush as we gather with family and friends, warming ourselves in love, and good cheer.

There's also a lot of cranky buzz kills out there.


I cannot for the life of me understand why people get so offended when someone wishes them a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Festivus or Joyous Yule. So what if that is not their religious belief. Isn't the statement just a wish from one person to another to have happiness and hope. Isn't that a good thing?

I think this flowchart on Imgur says it best.

The Bestest Perfect Peanut Butter Cookie

For me, it's not the Holiday Season without lots and lots of Christmas cookies. I don't really eat that many ... well, maybe this time of year.... but I do love sharing them and finding new and interesting recipes. In fact, Cindy and I have a bakeathon the weekend after Thanksgiving when we get the first round of baking done.

Recipes come from all over. A real family favorite is your basic peanut butter cookie. And the best recipe I have is in an ancient tome - the 1957 Betty Crocker NEW Boys and Girls Cookbook. 




It's a well worn cookbook. I don't remember if it was mine or my husbands or where we got it, but it has lots of easy kid friendly recipes. It's also a bit of a time machine, showing how certain things have changed through the years. The kids comments crack me up.


 















I found this Peanut Butter Cookie recipe ages ago. It was always something the kids and I made together when they were young. It is so easy.

QUICK PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
1 package yellow cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup water
1 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter

Mix together 1/2 package of the cake mix, eggs, water and peanut butter. Beat until smooth.
Add the other 1/2 of the cake mix and beat until blended.

Heat over to 375°. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls unto an ungreased cookie sheet. Press a fork dipped into flour, flatten rounds by pressing in a crisscross pattern on top of each cookie.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Let cool on the cookie sheet for about 2 minutes, then continue to cool on cookie rack.

Perfectly yummy peanut butter cookies.

When I made these last night, I started thinking. What if I used chocolate cake mix instead of yellow? Or maybe Spice Cake Mix? Hmmmm. I think I see an experiment in my future.
 

Last Fairs of the Season this Weekend

It's hard to believe the Season of Merriment is upon us. It's even harder to believe we're at the last weekend of our fair and festival season.

We've got two great events this weekend. Stop by and find out all about the wonderful ways to take care of your skin - sugar scrubs, lotion bars, body butters, toners, face masks and so much more.

Make sure to sign up for our newsletter or like us on Facebook. Because if you can't get to these shows, you'll still be able to order through our website. We'll even have some specials and new items coming next week!