What a find

Really, it's not my fault...

 It just reached out and grabbed me...with it's carved handsomness and solid oakness...

It had straw and foxtales hiding in nooks and crannies...

And secret hiding places...

And splinters and shreds and peels...

But I lost my heart the moment I saw it...the vintage roll top desk.

It took me quite a little while to convince my dear spouse, I heard at least 10 times...'where are we going to put it?' It is a little massive....

But in the end it was mine all mine. Tis the season of love after all... and uh, I still don't know where I am going to put it.

Desk update: Well our dear old Gertie is looking very good after a day at the spa. After a friend got all over me for not getting that desk done, ( It's been too darn cold... fer crying out loud) I got a great balmy day today in the 50's and stained and sealed her up!!!

she is so large, that my husband had to take the top off of it to get it into the room. Which was very lucky for me because it made it very very easy to stain and seal it up.

I did get some lemon oil soaking into this splintery mess of neglect, and the stain really took well.

I need to oil down the insides of the cubby and get the insides between the drawers. It was all clamped together today, dearest hubster has removed the clamps for me, so I'll get it tomorrow.

She is looking so good that I'm afraid I need new carpet in the bedroom where she is going to live. hehe. good excuse. I told my hubsterliscious that this was my birthday present, but that was a month ago, maybe he will be convinced that new carpeting would make an excellent present!... I'll fill you in on the details when she is installed in her room.

Do you like my new little avie lady? I LOVE her.

She's bubbly!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ParadiseEssentials?ref=seller_info

http://www.etsy.com/listing/62254456/goatsmilk-lotion

New in the shop, Perfumed Lotion. Sweet Indulgence.

Super thick and creamy with no greasy feeling. Just a tiny dollop melts instantly and makes your skin feel like silk.I have found the most wonderful lotion, made of goats milk and other wonderful ingredients. It took me quite a while but I'm very pleased.

For its debut, I've chosen two amazing scents. Choose from:
Dutch Tulip
Almost every one who has tried the Dutch tulip soap has asked me if I carry it in a perfume. The scent is not quite 'present' enough for a perfume, but it is outstanding in this lotion. And yes, it smells like a tulip shop.

Juniper Breeze:
An ozony balance of floral, green and fruity notes with a slight musk undertone. Honestly? This screams day at the spa. Inhale, and relax. Feeling a bit stressed by the weather? This scent is soft music, lit candles and massage table good. The scent lingers for hours.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/48469417/solid-lotion-stick-w-esssential-oil

Also new is a new scent for the lotion stick, lightly delightfully naturally scented with  Lemon Eucalyptus essential oil. Perfect for daytime all day use.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/63954425/massagebody-oil

Also new, a therapeutic application of the Lemon Eucalyptus essential oil.

This is a grand mix of exotic carrier oils and therapeutic essential oil. This body oil is multi funtional because of the many attributes of the essential oil used. (Click the listing under the pic)

Excellent as massage oil, light and quickly absorbed.

For the bath, only a couple of drops are needed, this scent blooms in hot water. Enjoy the properties of this essential oil working on your aching joints. Enjoy very little oily residue on the tub especially combined with magnesium sulfate for a therapeutic soak.

Great amazing wonderful summertime body oil, moisturize and repel mosquitos.
Featuring Eucalyptus Citriodora, (also called Lemon Eucalyptus)in a base of pistachio nut oil, fractionated coconut oil and aloe vera oil.

This oil is stored in a glass storage vessel, then upon purchase, dispensed into unbreakable recycleable plastic bottles with a convenient flip tab top.

What was I thinking... 

what could be easier than making a butterfly?

I was immediately drawn to "the Butterfly Project" for so many reasons, the first being the mention of losing a million and a half kids... to what (?!) my mind flew... and as I clicked further and further into the subject, the deeper and deeper I was drawn.

What should have been a brief arts and crafts project done in justified haste to show my support for a worthy cause, has turned into hours spent on survivor websites, history websites, newspapers surrounded by death, horror, and shock.

I too am captured just as the Jews, caught in the horror. There are thousands of websites now that have tons of information, stories and poems written by those who died, and by survivors. It is heart wrenching to read especially from the children.

I probably could spend an enormous amount of time pursuing this but as I got into the stories, I found I was feeling very very sad  for this event that happened so long ago, and had it on my mind a lot.

So I am calling an end to my project with my 4 butterfly boys. I am not happy with the way they turned out. I am not happy with the holocaust, and I think it shows in the work. It's impossible to try to bring any happiness to this subject, and if I had the resources and the time I would probably depict on a huge canvas a million and a half children with angelic wings glowing in their freedom in the afterlife soaring heavenward.

I chose children who were liberated by the allies caught in the happy moment of being set free to be the center of the collage, hoping to focus on some good, but honestly there was no good to be had even for most of these children. They were orphaned one and all as their parents and weaker brothers and sisters were starved, gassed en mass, mutilated and tortured. The only reason the children were allowed to live was because they were strong enough to be used as manual labor the bury the bodies.

Those who were liberated oftentimes met untimely deaths or became beggars or met some other unhappy fate, and those with seemingly happy endings were haunted their whole lives..."I feel a tremendous guilt … why did I survive?"

We're so lucky, my generation, the baby boomers and younger in this country. And the butterfly project really drives it home. By an accident of birth, through nothing they did, those people were robbed stripped tortured annihilated, and we have drive thrus.

It is a project for the strong of heart, but what an impact it will make at it's completion. Cruise on over, check it out and make a butterfly because no matter who you are, in what ever circumstance you are in you are so fortunate so lucky to not have been there.

Three Sisters, three layers of unfathomably rich sweet orange fragrance oils.

Sometimes you just have to GO for it, and my own personal opinion is that a really nice strong fragrant soap is just a joy. I enjoy mine for millions of sniffs before I even let them hit the water. I knew I would be safe with an orange or two...

Well, three separate scents in three separate layers to be precise.
1.)The fresh aroma blend of Sicilian orange, lemongrass, lemon slices, jasmine, green tea, and Tahitian vanilla.
2.)An incorporation of sweet, juicy mandarin oranges, muguet lily, fresh greenery notes, and a touch of amber to orange blossom petals to create this beautiful fragrance arrangement, well rounded.
3.)Top notes of white lily, jasmine, and rose; followed by middle notes of citrus, violet, and pepper; sitting on base notes of patchouli, sandalwood, and white musk.

It is ambrosia in a bar, and it is a stunner with layers of brown, pure creamy white and blush (yes blush) pink.
Perfect for the person who loves food scents and especially nice this time of year, unbelievably spunky and fresh.

Coconut oil, olive oil, soy oil, canola oil combined with lye and water. All natural and organic, totally handmade from raw ingredients, not a melt and pour bar.

Keep your soap out of standing water. Handmade cold process soap lasts longer, is environmentally friendly, and skin loving. In the cold process soap bar, the naturally occurring glycerin is left intact. It is a natural moisturizer. Never tried? You will love.

These bars are cut at over 5-6 ounces and are uniquely rustic cut, artisan crafted with time in a very small batch. This is a limited edition.

All my soaps are plant based, never lard and I only use high quality scenting oils. I use a bar from each batch for my quality control. Please try to keep your soap completely dry between uses to keep it hard and long-lasting.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ParadiseEssentials