Friday, November 26, 2010

Have a Fun Weekend!


Hi everyone!  I hope you all had great Thanksgiving dinners with your friends and families, and have plenty of left overs to save you from cooking for the weekend!  We live near both sides of the family, so we did Turkey Day at with my in-laws yesterday and will do a big "Lavigna" dinner tomorrow (my side). 

Today I've been entertaining the kids while my poor husband nurses a horrible sinus infection.  I dug up a good Christmas craft recipe for Cinnamon Ornaments.  It's really fun and surprisingly cheap to buy 1 cup of cinnamon (about $2 at the grocery store). It's a nice way to kick off the holiday season!

Click here for the recipe if you're looking for something to do.  We used the last recipe and now I'm baking them in the oven at 200 degrees for 2 1/2 hours to dry them out. 

Have a nice relaxing weekend and I'll "see" you next week!  :)

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

New Items and Great SoapySale!

As we speak, my kids are doing their best to undo my house cleaning efforts, so I'll make this quick.  Soapylove is now offering amazing Cupcake Bath Bombs and adorable Super Fizzie Mini Bath Bombs - we even have gift sets!  They all coordinate with our Soapy Pops so you can indulge your favorite fragrance in 3 wonderful ways.  The new packaging features custom designed Soapylove characters, too! 

To make them even sweeter and to help get your holiday shopping under way, I am offering 20% off everything in my Soapylove shop including books and eZines!  Just enter HOLIDAY20 as the coupon code during checkout.  Offer only good on retail orders and through next Friday (12/3).  So don't miss out!


...and have a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

New Typography Soap in Black Coffee!

Over the last couple of months, the Typography Soap has enjoyed a renewed popularity!  Featured in the holiday gift guide in Fine Books & Collections Magazine, it is easily my most popular soap in my Etsy shop.  In fact, it might as well be the only thing I sell there! 

So I have finally introduced a new color and scent offering.  This stark white version is a perfect match for the bold letters, numbers, and punctuation covering the top and sides of the soap, and the sharp Black Coffee fragrance is great for both men and women.  Like the Crushed Ice version, it is packaged in a clear acetate box with a matte cigar band label, making it a unique and polished gift. 

I only have 2 of them made right now, but I plan to have more available through the holidays.  Click here to find the listings and see more photos!

Sunday, November 7, 2010

A Day at The Spa - Not What I Expected


On Saturday my husband and I got a "date day."  We dropped off our kids at their grandparent's house and off we went.  Jim had the day planned starting with a trip out to Jacumba, about an hour's drive east of San Diego.  We were heading for some hot springs.

We knew it was going to be quirky, but we had no idea it was going to be completely bizarre.  First we pulled off the highway into a town that was hidden behind some hills and nestled right against the Mexican border wall.  Jacumba seemed to be a dusty, forgotten town, practically deserted.  We found the Jacumba Hot Springs sign and pulled up.

This little hotel has been around since the 20's, and I don't think they have redecorated much over the years.  Everything was broken, sun damaged, and deteriorating.  There was even a coffin in the front patio.  It was so fascinating - I wanted to take pictures of everything!  There weren't many people around except for the owner and some locals.  We went into the restaurant and had a quick lunch. 

Next we were ready for some hot springs.  Natural sulphur hot spring water is piped into one large hot tub and 2 lukewarm pools. After paying for our day pass ($15 each), we were shown where everything was.  We went out to a room made of metal siding.  We ducked into some changing rooms, got into our bathing suits, and eased into the hot tub.  This area was great.  The ceiling was rusty, the paintings of the Spanish Armada on the walls were completely warped from the humidity, and the cement was rough from mineral deterioration.  A great wicker chair from the 70's was in the corner, most of its canes breaking and brittle.  A local man talked our ears off about hunting, auctions, and politics. I mainly floated around while Jim entertained his conversation. 

We took a dip in the pools outside but it was getting chilly (surprisingly) and we were happy to get back into the hot tub again.  After a couple of hours we were ready to seek out a nearby chocolate shop (which sadly was not open for business yet), and head back into San Diego for a romantic dinner.

I loved our little adventure.  I'm quite sure the owner loves how weird the "spa" is, and wouldn't change a thing.  I appreciated its total authenticity.  Plus we got to sit in natural spring water, which is a rare treat.  If you're ever passing by Jacumba or need a truly bizarre experience, I highly recommend it!