Valentines-y Goodness

Since my soap-making supplies arrived from Brambleberry earlier this week, I have been happily trying out soap recipes. I ordered a sample set of melt-and-pour soap bases, a sample kit of floral fragrances, three of Bramble Berry's Colorblock colors, a heart-shaped silicone mold by Wilton, and a kit for making "bee" soap which included the soap base, fragrance, and adorable bee-on-a-honeycomb mold.

I made my first batch Tuesday night using the "bee" kit. I followed the super-easy instructions that Bramble Berry included in the shipment, and I had already watched one of the online tutorials at their sister-site Soap Queen. I struggled with getting the right amount of fragrance because I didn't have a dropper, but the first batch came out really nicely. I love the bee mold - it's so cute! (Don't worry - there are pics further down.) The only problem was that I really didn't have a good place to store the soap once it was ready. I didn't have any way to wrap it up (Saran wrap, paper, etc.), or a place to stack it, since we have no linen closet. So, I put the completed soaps into a bag and put them under the sink, feeling rather dissatisfied that I didn't have a better place to store them.

Now back when I cleaned out above my refrigerator, I came across an old, but in excellent condition, Valentine's candy box. I love those heart-shaped boxes and always have trouble parting with them. I have repurposed several over the years to hold quilt projects, cards, embroidery threads, and what have you. When I saw this one, I got inspired. I had already ordered my soap supplies and heart-shaped mold. I could make some heart-shaped soaps, in different colors and scents, and place them in the Valentine's box as a Valentine's gift for my parents!

Now I usually don't give Valentine's gifts to my parents (or really to anyone other than Steve), but I STILL haven't finished their Christmas quilts (I have been sick!), and we will be visiting them Valentine's Day weekend. So I thought this would be a nice treat, and would soften the sting of "I still don't have your Christmas presents". Plus, I really wanted an excuse to make soap!

So all this week, I mixed up little batches of the different types of soap bases with different scents and colors. I made small batches, which produced three bars each time - two for them, and one for us to try here at home. Here is a batch of pink-and-green apple-rose-scented soap, cooling in the mold:

Now as luck would have it, someone sent some DELICIOUS Edible Arrangements chocolate-covered strawberries to our office, as a "thank you" for some work we did. The strawberries came in the prettiest boxes, which I quickly claimed as my own, once they were empty.

Each of the strawberries rested on a wax-coated cupcake liner. The wax coating made the liners easy to clean, so I snagged them as well.

As you may have guessed, I determined that these boxes were PERFECT for holding my bee-yootiful soap! The liners allowed the different fragrances to sit slightly away from each other in the box, like little candies.

When I finished the last batch last night, I assembled the Valentine's box for my parents ...

... and used the pretty Edible Arrangements box for our soaps! I love how they look like little frosted cakes!

Look at the adorable detail on the bee soap!

The above pics are not wonderful, as our kitchen is not really lit for taking pictures, but you can see how PRETTY both boxes are. I think my parents will love it!

As an aside, I have been using a bar of the honey-based bee soap in the bath and really like it. The scent is very light on your skin, and it makes wonderful lather. And you feel so clean afterwards. I will never buy bar soap again!

So I hope everyone out there has a Happy Valentine's Day! Even though the holiday is supposed to be dedicated to love and romance, I prefer to think of it as dedicated to eating chocolates from pretty heart-shaped boxes, which you can then repurpose to lovely effect!

Laundry Love (Part 2) and the Long Runs of Tomorrow

The dryer is still broken, but the weather is still beautiful, so it's time again to play ... Laundry Love!! (theme music)

Look at all the pretty laundry drying in the warm sun! Even though I still (yes, STILL!) have the cold-that-won't-die, I hopped out of bed happily on Saturday morning when I saw the sun. It was such a warm, dry, and breezy day that the laundry that I hung out to dry in the morning was folded and put away by lunch time.

Saturday was also a special day as it was my Annual New Running Shoe Purchase Day. Once a year, usually in February before the start of any spring training, I splurge on a new pair of running shoes for the year. I like to get my running shoes at Nashville Running Company in East Nashville (I get my GUs there too). They are staffed with friendly and knowledgeable sales people who are runners themselves, and who never appear bemused when I tell them that I am training for this or that race, even though I don't look like I could run more than a few yards.

Last year, I was deep into my training for the Cherry Blossom Ten Mile in D.C. when I started have ankle problems, and of all things, shin splints. The folks at Nashville Running Company put me into these babies:

Pearl Izumi E:Motion Road M3

The picture above is of the pair that I just retired, which is why they look so well-loved. I actually had a hard time parting with them at the store. I got a little teary. I'm sure the saleswoman thought I was mental. But those shoes and I went through 500 miles together last year, ran in Washington, D.C. and in Savannah, GA, and had so many wonderful long runs this past summer. Nashville Running Company will recycle my used shoes for me, as they are completely worn out.

I replaced my babies with this new pair of exact the same brand and style, in a new color:

Looking at these shoes, I can already see all the Long Runs of Tomorrow - sunny Saturday afternoon runs, rainy Sunday morning runs, balmy sunset runs, moonlit evening runs with twinkling fireflies in the grass, speed work on the main street of the village, frogs on the sidewalk, deer in the woods, GUs and water and sweat, and that wonderful tiredness at the completion of the run. Sigh ...

ANYWAY, after the running store, we went to lunch. By then, I was exhausted (I AM still sick, after all), so we headed home, stopping at Rite Aid to utilize the handful of coupons that I hand brought along. We needed to stock up on cold medicine and Rite Aid-brand Mucinex, both of which I had seriously depleted over the last few days. We saved over $19, since practically everything in the store was BOGO 50% off.

We finally got home and look who was waiting for me at the top of the stairs:

Little Fifi, my sweet little chocolate kitty. I opened the windows in the house, and Fifi and I had a nice lie-down on the bed. It was a lovely day.