Swap Package Received!

Yesterday, the mail man (a popular guy with my son and daughter) brought a package from my new friend at "A Girl and Her Needle", my swap partner for the Celebrating Handmade swap.

Since I knew the package had a sweet apron and pillow for my daughter, I let her open it. As you can see from the pictures that follow, she was VERY excited about what she received:





My daughter immediately took the pillow and put it in the doll cradle she got for her birthday so her baby doll would have a pretty spot to rest her head. Here is a picture of the pillow I took before that happened:



And just look at the pretty matching card that came along with all these goodies:



My daughter loves the pocket on the apron - she had it filled with all sorts of things, but finally settled on using it to carry around one of her bears:



Thank you C. for such a great swap package!!

A Treat for Winter Hands

I have a favorite place to buy soap. Well - it's actually the ONLY place I will buy soap. It's a company called Manor Hall Soap Company. I love that the soap is handmade and all natural and you know exactly what is in it. Susan, the owner, is a dream to work with and has always been super fast to respond and help me with any questions I have. I can honestly say that the customer service is better than any other company I have ever ordered from - it's just that good!

My skin is super sensitive, and my hands always suffer in the winter because of the weather and frequent washing. I've been using the Out and Out Shea from Manor Hall on my hands and it has worked very well at keeping them moisturized. I've also be using it on my itchy pregnancy belly!

On the Manor Hall blog recently, there was a recipe for a Milk and Honey Hand Bath. It looks simple, and sounds wonderful, and I am going to try it out. Thought some of you might want to try it too. Here is the recipe (or you can click here and go directly to the Manor Hall blog where it is posted):

Milk and Honey Hand Bath

You will need:
2 cups of water
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of honey

How to:
Mix all ingredients into a large microwave-safe jug, and microwave until warm (about 20 seconds). Pour into a bowl large enough for your hands, and soak both of them in it for ten minutes. Rinse with warm water, and pat dry with soft towel.

Notes: Make sure not to overheat your liquid in the microwave. Warm it gently.