Friday Finds for Dec 3!

Oh my, oh my, oh my! Did I ever find something last weekend when Heather and I were out shopping at the new Cross Iron Mills Mall here in Calgary!

Have you ever heard of Lush? OMG people, you MUST TRY LUSH! They are all handmade soaps, lotions, potions and skincare and everything I have tried so far is d.i.v.i.n.e!!!!

I had actually heard of Lush before and I thought "meh, sounds like another Body Shop" but boy was I wrong!

The Godiva Shampoo Bar. Photo Courtesy of Lush Cosmetics

For so long I have been allergic to sooooo many different shampoos/conditioners etc, so I tried their Godiva Shampoo Bar and I think I actually got one step closer to heaven - it is amazing! My head/scalp isn't itchy, my hair smells like jasmine and looks even better if I do say so myself! I was so shocked that this little itty bitty round disc shaped thingy even worked, let alone is so rock solid it feels like it will last forever. I followed it up with their Jungle Solid Conditioner (which is a bar by the way, not a bottle of conditioner - who knew?!) which actually tamed my thick and wild locks (I'm not bragging either, my hair is thick and crazy and drives me to the brink some days...) All in all $80 later between their shampoo, conditioner, skin cleansers and bubble bars I've been smelling purty all week!

The Jungle Solid Conditioner. Photo Courtesy of Lush Cosmetics

What I also love about Lush, is their lack of packaging. If I buy a bar of shampoo or a bubble bar for example, it is handmade in Vancouver, BC Canada AND it doesn't come in any unnecessary plastic packaging!! WOOOT! I love that. A few of their products need packaging but I love that only the products that *really* need it are in plastic bottles or tubs.

You have to try it out, you will be sooooooooooooooo glad you did!

'Pop In The Bath' Bubble Bar. Photo Courtesy of Lush Cosmetics

For our Canadian friends simply go to http://www.lush.ca/, for our American friends pop on over to http://www.lushusa.com/ and all our other international friends you can click your way to http://www.lush.com/ and they will help you get to the right place.

Moving right along...  :o)

I have also become a HUGE fan of Laurette Lynn aka The Unplugged Mom. I dream, no actually I drool over the thought of becoming an unplugged house (which will never happen because my husband is a sports and HDTV addict - *sigh*), so I live a lot of the time, vicariously through her. She has a truly informative and inspiring blog radio show as well every Sunday night at 10pm Central (thats 8pm PST, 9pm MST and 11pm EST). Laurette has a fabulous blog and radio show and I think you should go and check her out! For more information about Laurette's show just click here!

Speaking of fabulous ideas and wonderful blogs, I found this little gem on Spearmint Baby and fell in love!

Photo courtesy of Spearmint Baby

They are fabric alphabet fridge magnets! I was always nervous of the little plastic fridge magnets so I never kept them in the house. But these are great and I can't wait to make some for my little Noah this month and tuck them under the tree! :D

Now I found this on Spearmint Baby, but this is what I love about blogging - we all share the love! Spearmint Baby found this on the Daily B. So going to either site will give you the instructions on how to make these wonderful little letters.



What have you found this week that you want to share? Make sure to comment and let us know!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone! ♥

With love and light,



Hand Made Gift Idea - Heating Pads

It's December and Christmas is on the way! This morning I was up and at 'em and by 5:45 I had my sewing machine set up and a couple of pillowcases ready to go.

Don't let the words 'sewing machine' scare you off - while I wish I could sew like Tea Rose Home, the truth is, I'm just getting back into sewing after a nearly 10 year hiatus. What does that mean? Well, I'm back to only making 'beginner' projects and pretty much anything that says it will take 1 hour or less (which usually takes me 2 hours).

That being said, this morning I completed 4 (count 'em - FOUR!) Christmas gifts in exactly one hour. That included cutting, ironing, sewing, filling, and closing.

I did about 5 minutes of googling and came up with something our kids already have and use at least 3 times each week. Heating Pads!

As these pads are frugal to make, environmentally friendly, and handmade, they are a great option for gift giving. I already had a stash of fun pillowcases and plenty of rice in the pantry, so it was an easy choice. If the heating pad gets worn out, the rice can be composted and the fabric can be reused for quilting.

For the sake of getting off the computer to spend time with my kids, I've included the link to Martha Stewart's tutorial. It's easy and each one can be made in 15 minutes. She uses cherry pits, but I used rice for the filling.  I have also used barley in the past.  I'd say it's even worth it to make up a couple of extras - you never know when you'll need one.

If you have a 'must make' craft for gift giving, let us know - we're always looking for great ideas!