Bedside Water Bottle Brings Relief

I know I whine a lot about winter, but it's February. So, here I go with another complaint: the dry air is making me wake up all night long with a sore throat and dry lips. The cure: this adorable Recycled Glass Water Bottle and matching glass set makes a great bedside companion. It comes in handy to beat dry air, but it's also pretty great for those nights after one-to-many margaritas. Keeping hydrated really does the trick. My guests always love it too. Available at Farmhouse Wares

Super Duty Hand Care--It Works!

At some point every winter it seems my hands suddenly become painfully dry. Maybe it's the endless shoveling I've done the last few weeks or the annoyingly dry air--the same dry air that makes me look like I've got "hat head" when I haven't even worn a hat. These extreme winter conditions call for extreme care. Our Super Duty Hand Care lives up to its name. It's a funky little product--not a lotion or cream--more like a salve. It's made by a small New Hampshire company that says,

"We created this salve for an old, cranky Yankee friend who had band-aids covering his raw, chapped fingertips. After one week of use, the band-aids were no longer necessary! Uniquely shaped in a palm-fitting disk, (the cranky Yankee wasn’t going to use any sissy hand lotion) this all-natural beeswax, olive oil, lanolin concoction features lemon and lavender essential oils for a pleasant fragrance. Packaged in a handy tin for toting around."

One user raves, "I just want to let you know how much your Super Duty Hand Care helped me so much. I live in NJ and this whole winter my fingers were cracked and bleeding. They were like sandpaper. I have a 9 month old so I am constantly washing my hands. I had band-aids on every finger and was in so much pain that it hurt just to bend my fingers. I tried all different kinds of lotions and nothing worked. I tried everything. I was looking on-line for something else to try and I came across your Super Duty Hand Care and thought I would give it a try and that I have nothing to lose. Well, I have to say it started working by that evening! I also received it very fast. I use it every morning and night and all the cuts are healed! My dad used it too because his hands were the same as mine. I showed it to my friend and she bought one for herself and one for my brother after she just used it once because it worked so fast. I definitely will be buying more in the winters to come. Thank you so much!"

So if you're really looking to heal those hands, stop using the "sissy lotions" and get your Super Duty Hand Care at Farmhouse Wares for just $6.95.

Clean George and Fluffy the Cat

It's been a busy week, so I haven't had much chance to write. My daughter's on school vacation, which is frankly a bit of challenge, especially in February when it's freezing outside and there's not much to do. She's getting a glimpse into my world though. Yesterday was fun. I discovered our cat Fluffy was just a little too fluffy, which was causing a rather unsightly problem in his hind quarters. Let's just say the problem was piling up on itself. Not pretty and very stinky. Mr. Fluffy needed an emergency visit to the vet to get a little grooming. I love my vet. First of all, he and his office staff take such good care of all my animals. Second, he looks like Robert Redford. My daughter came along for the visit. As usual, her six-year-old self was touching everything in sight, including Fluffy, who, as I said, was not a pretty sight. This is where Clean George comes in. I love this stuff as much as I love my vet. Clean George is an all-natural hand purifier. It's soooo much better than the conventional stuff. Conventional brands are loaded with alcohol, which actually dries your skin, causing tiny cracks, which makes you more susceptible to germs. Clean George is great for fighting germs, especially during this flu season. It's packed with purifying & moisturizing ingredients supplied by responsible companies who practice sustainable agricultural and offer a fair and living wage to their workforce. Clean George does not promote germ resistance or "SUPER GERMS".
I used Clean George to keep my daughter clean during this exciting outing. I used the Lovin' Lavender, which kept me clean and calm too. I think I'll need lots more lavender until school starts up again. Get your Clean George today at Farmhouse Wares.

Lemon Aid

I am all about lemons today. That gorgeous, fresh scent is a saving grace in February. The sun is shining and the sky is blue, but the temps are so low. It's a wee bit cold for my taste. The Farmhouse Lemon Verbena Soap and Shea Butter lotion are good aromatherapy for days like today. I took a warm shower with the Lemon Verbena Liquid Soap and the scent of juicy lemons filled the bathroom. The lotion was next, and extra important because it last a long time, so I can sniff my skin whenever I need to warm my soul. (I know it probably looks strange to see me with my nose burried in my arm all day, but I really don't care.)

Now I just have to imagine myself sitting on the beach sipping an ice-cold lemonade. Praise the lemon.

Give The Green Light to Farmers' Markets

Today’s weather is, for lack of a better word, yucky. We have snow, sleet and rain. I wouldn’t be surprised if Mother Nature decides to throw a bit of thunder in there too. The kids are home from school, but it’s not the kind of “snow day” we all romanticize. It’s far too wet and gloomy to go sledding, build a snowman or have a snowball fight (the snowballs would be lethal today). Needless to say, I’ve been dreaming of greener days. I’m looking forward to seeing my garden beds again and the enitre growing season. There’s nothing better than getting your dinner from your backyard. I thought I’d share Green Light Magazine’s piece highlighting the top ten US Farmers’ Markets to get us all pumped up and ready to get good fresh produce from local farming friends in your backyard. Enjoy.

Potluck Studios

If you read my blog it's not hard to tell that at Farmhouse Wares we take our coffee drinking pretty seriously. It's not only important to have the best brew Organic, Fair Trade can offer (though ours is pretty tasty), but the mug is very important too. This is why the Trumpet Mug by Potluck Studios is such a big hit. Yes, the colors are gorgeous: fresh and modern (all hand-glazed), but the design sits perfectly in one's hand. The gentle ridges were made for hands to cup in a cozy, "I'm not letting this go" kind-of-way. There's nothing like Sunday mornings, newspapers everywhere, comfy sweats and my Trumpet Mug.

Fair Trade Success Story

The Fair Trade Beat recently reported that between 1998 and the end of June 2007, over $100,000,000 in additional income was paid to coffee farmers and their organizations through sales of Fair Trade Certified coffee. Go Fair Trade!

Farmhouse Wares is pleased to support Fair Trade iniatives by offering Greenfield Fair Trade and Organic Coffee. When you buy Fair Trade, you're helping sustain thousands of jobs and contributing to a collective betterment of living conditions for harvesters from South America to Africa and beyond. The coffee costs a little more than other available commercial brands, but be assured, your Fair Trade purchase makes a real difference by helping guarantee decent pay for those who pick the beans we love so much.

Waxing Poetic About Farmhouse Furniture Wax

Cleaning is like meditation for me. I find a lot of satisfaction in cleaning. It calms me. It keeps me focused. I'm not a clean freak, but it is like a sport to me. Before green cleaning products came into fashion I would use the harshest products I could find. I figured, if the fumes burned my eyes it must be burning the grime away too. About eighteen years ago my lung collasped several times. Doctors said it was a condition I was born with, but my husband (he was my boyfriend then) caught me on one of my cleaning frenzies during this time. I was bleaching up a storm and could hardly breathe because the fumes were so intense. He went nuts and told me I was never allowed to clean again. He said he would do all the cleaning from then on. Needless to say, he did not do the cleaning, so I went on the hunt for healthier cleaning alternatives.

The Farmhouse line is like heaven to me because it offers me all I need: effective results along with healthy ingredients. The fact that the scents are like aromatherapy for my soul is icing on the cake. Farmhouse Furniture Wax makes my old wood furniture happy. I mean, my furniture has seen better days. The finishes are worn, but I like their aged patina. The Farmhouse wax nourishes the wood and leaves a protective coating with just the right amount of shine. The thing is, it makes me happy too. The Lemon and Lavender scents make the whole house smell fresh and clean. Now that's got to be better for my lungs and the environment.

Our House is a Very, Very, Very Fine Farmhouse

My husband and I recently celebrated our 10th year in our humble farmhouse. It's hard to believe all the work we have accomplished because our to-do list always seems so loooong. The very first thing we did was tear off a 1970's style awning from the front porch. It drove us both crazy. Upon closing, we literally pulled up to the house with a screwdriver in hand ready to take the unsightly piece down. I think I could hear the house sigh in relief. It was the first of many small projects that resulted in big transformations.

As a gift to my husband, I framed a few of the old nails from a dilapidated barn he tore down piece by piece, all by himself, to make way for a new garage. When, or if it's ever done, we shall hang it in the new room above the garage.

We'll always have a to-do list. And as much as we whine about it, we also spend many hours rummaging through magazines and dreaming about the endless possibilities. Now our daughter joins us in the dreaming. She's thinking a hot tub would be nice.

Mood Altering Experience

I'm just going to come right out and say it: I'm seriously sad that the Patriots lost the big game last night. I mean, they won all 18 games they played this season, shouldn't the trophy be theirs? I'm a bit suprised at myself. It's not like I'm a die-hard football fan. But I am a perfectionist, and the idea of the perfect season felt so good to me.

Anyway, I need something to cheer me up. Luckily, there are new studies that indicate if you just look at fresh flowers every morning your mood will improve. People reported feeling more cheerful and energetic throughout the day. That seems a worthy investment. It has the added bonus of supporting local growers, which is also a worthy investment.

So I'm off to fill my Trumpet Vase ,which is by Potluck Studios, with something that I am hopeful will alter my mood. After all, flowers will make me think of spring, and spring will make me think of baseball.