Well… not the actual bar of soap that my son uses. Not only would that be gross, but really and truly, you’d have to fight him tooth and nail to get it away from him. He hates taking a shower, hates soaps and lotions and cream and lip balms and anything remotely girly (he’s a low maintenance kinda guy, just like his Daddy) and the only way I can call a truce with this boy and get him washed up is if I promise him he can use Lana Bella soap. Not exaggerating here.
Because this soap, people, is so lush and rich that it is the ONLY soap we’ve ever used that makes putting lotion on afterwards optional. Otherwise, by mid winter, we all have itchy dry tight skin… But when Miles uses this soap, he can skip lotion and his skin still smells so luscious, soft, sweet… oh, it’s all I can do not to eat the soap itself!
Whenever we have a soap order come in, we all sit around the box for 10 minutes in a daze, smelling the lusciousness of it. Just sitting around the open box, breathing in. Seriously, I don’t know what is in this soap, but I’m totally addicted. I can honestly say it is the only soap I’ve ever high-fived my children over… we get so excited about this soap that my son literally high-fived me after I bought him some more. Right now we are totally obsessed with the cranberry orange soap.
And I say I don’t know what is in it, because I don’t know how she gets it to be soooo much more amazing then any other soap I’ve ever encountered… but I *do* know why it is so great… it’s because of Jenni herself. She is an amazing woman… she tells her truth and she is bold and wonderful and unique and most of all, she loves loves loves her children with abandon. I love witnessing how much she supports them and how loving she is towards them. She puts that same kind of amazingness into all her products… made from the heart, all her stuff just rocks!
But I’m so in love with her soaps, that while all her products are natural and handcrafted and amazing, I just can’t get past pushing her soap on people. You just have to try it and you’ll know what I mean. Her shop is here and her Facebook Fan Page is here, where she shares special offers from time to time. And luckily, Jenni is generously giving away a $50 gift basket for free to one lucky reader! Damn! How I wish it was ME! Oh… I mean… good luck out there, folks. Just leave a comment at the end of this post, and come back Friday to find out who the lucky reader is! xoxo
From Jenni:
In my busy life as a mother and educator of four, proprietress of Lana Bella, wife to one, whisperer to plants, listener to many, there are two things that I take absolute delight in doing for myself each week. Yes I wake to smiles and snuggles most days, and have lunch with wonderful folk each desiring a bit more of my attention, hear the laughter of my children (and also the squabbles) and end each day beside my best friend. Many would wonder what more could I want.
Time. Time to reflect, to think, to slow, to relax, to float. I love my bath time. It happened much more frequently when we were in South Carolina having that great garden tub in our master bathroom and I could put my babies to bed and sneak off and relax, read a magazine or just breathe. Now the bathtub is on the children’s floor aka our second floor (our bedroom is on the third) so inevitably the water usually alerts someone to the “fun” I’m about to have for somehow my boys have not realized that I do not play with Thomas in the tub.
I rarely even have the light on being too bright and in my eyes… I prefer a candle or two so I’m not in complete darkness. I love getting in while the tub is still filling so the sound of the water drowns out any noise… ahhhh, peace.
Recipe for Basic Milk Bath Salts:
1/2 cup epsom salts
1/4 cup Dead sea salts (or plain sea salt if thats all you have handy)
1/4 cup powdered milk (i love using coconut milk)
3 drops lavender
3 drops rose geranium
2 drops cardamom
(or your favorite blend)
Pour directly under running water and enjoy!
My other great joy is a cup of tea. Now in our house we drink water, water and more water, and make various pots of tea through the day with the children. However I really love a cup of chai made in the old way steeped in the pot of water then milk added and steeped some more. Made this way it takes about 30 minutes or so but its so much more full of flavor.
Now I’ll answer the questions I get most frequently asked mostly at shows but in general when someone hears I make soap.
Are you Lana?
No I am not Lana, Jenni actually. I started out making wool wash and being part Italian took from my heritage and Lana Bella means Beautiful Wool.
Is making soap hard?
No, not anymore… well it was never really hard it was just learning the steps and the safety with the Lye and going from there. But I’ve been making soap now for seven years so I don’t think its hard at all anymore.
Wow. How do you find the time?
I make the time. While once really a hobby this is my job. I don’t work regular hours like the average person but I do have the benefit of working for myself.
Where did you learn to do all of this?
Years of studying. I’ve been gardening my whole life as a young girl I lived with my aunt and uncle and she had this wonderful old herb book on the properties of plants. I thought it was the most amazing thing ever that parsley had actual benefits. I loved that old book.
A few summers later up at our cabin in VT there was one of those “weird mountain hippies” who I loved to take walks with and she would show me even more. It wasn’t until just a few years ago that that weird old hippie was Rosemary Gladstar… what I would give to be back on that mountain now knowing what I do but with that girlish brain sponge absorption.
I have also taken a few herbal correspondence courses and love being on an herb list with the likes of Michelle Morton, Henriette Kress and Paul Bergner to name a few and having a friendship with Adrienne Leeds to have wonderful herbal discussions often.
So there you have it! AND as a little treat one lucky winner will win a basket of YUMMY soap goodies valued at $50 including soap, body butter, bath salts, a candle and a bag of tea 🙂
Anyone who would like to order through the month of November will also receive a 15% discount (in the form of a refund) by telling me HEARTSONG in the note to seller box on Etsy. Http://lanabella.etsy.com and if you happen to be in the MD area please stop by my blog and look at my show schedule maybe you can come shop/visit in person http://lanabellasoap.com
