Mmmmmmmmmojito

I have been incredibly fortunate in my life. This doesn't mean that I have the next winning lottery numbers, or a magic wand that will get you the promotion, the soul mate, or an ornery tomato plant to grow, but that things tend to usually work out, the way (I'm assuming) they are supposed to. A little explanation... I like the color green (yes, it does generally start off as simply as this), and was looking for a natural way to color my soaps at a local natural foods market, here.

Much to my excitement I found a bright green colored powder that was softly calling my name. Barley grass powder... sweet... no idea what it is but, is it sure pretty!!! I packaged it up, brought it home and it sat on my shelf for a few months until inspiration spiked! On one of those famously hot days here in Tucson I was searching for a way to feel refreshed. I had some limeade in the fridge and a fresh bottle of sparkling water, I went to water the plants outside and found that my spearmint plant was leaning over it's pot begging to be plucked and placed carefully into my limeade. BOOM, mojito! That's IT! How sweet it would be to incorporate lime and mint into my soap, and.... guess what I have just the thing to add a touch of color. So I grabbed my ingredients and went to work. 

But wait... what exactly is this barley grass powder stuff... I didn't want to put anything in my soap that would be harmful or have adverse reactions to some with sensitive skin so I did some looking. Turns out barley grass powder is full of good stuff! It is high in anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, beta carotene and chlorophyll (which can also be used to wash drug deposits from the body). SCORE! Thanks be to that which makes my favorite color green! Sometimes I like to think that it is my inner hippitude, my deep rooted Gaia, my basic need to kneel and kiss the Earth that lends itself to such happenstance discoveries... or maybe I just like the color green. 

All of my musings aside, what results is a luscious, latherous, skin libation, that is pretty good for you too!

For more info on barley grass powder... look here.

Ingredients: Saponified oils of olive, coconut, shea butter, palm, and castor, water, coconut milk, essential oils, barley grass powder

COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE

I have a long lasting love affair with coffee. I dare say it was my first true love. As a little girl I watched my dad grind his own beans, the produced aroma intoxicating. Soon after I found myself working at a local coffee shop, and into my twenties would sit every morning with fresh coffee cup and cigarette in hand, having my morning moment with God. Whatever gets us to sit and have a moment; the smell of a desert rain, a newborn's first smiles, or simply a hot cup of joe on a crisp morning, we get to experience life, and in those experiences I get to discover more and more about how life is meant to be lived. To me it is easy simple. We are meant to live life in the moments they exist, for only in those moments do we exist fully with them. So, without getting too far off track, for whatever reason (and I understand this may not be the case for a lot of people) my morning cup was more than a morning cup, it was a chance to pause and just be me... just be Annie. It allowed me to get to know her, and love her, and for that and many reasons more, my affair continues. So here it is... a bar of soap dedicated to moments...

Cocoa & Coffee Butter

A rich coffee butter bar with medium lather. There are no artificial ingredients, so no overpowering fake coffee smell, just a light coffee smell that comes naturally from the coffee butter. Cocoa powder is high in antioxidants and helps with cell rejuvenation.. besides.. who wouldn't want to rub cocoa all over their body? 

Ingredients: Saponified oils of Olive, Coconut, Palm, Coffee Butter, and Castor, Water, Coconut Milk, Cocoa Powder