Metuchen Market Day success!

Little Owl Soap participated in the Metuchen Market Day for the first time ever on Saturday, July 9. We had a super time and got to meet and chat with a lot of great people. Thanks to everyone who came out to see us, and thanks to the folks who decided to try our products. We will be participating in the Metuchen Market Day again on Saturday, September 10.

Happy (last night of) Hanukkah!

After my husband and I attended a friend's Hanukkah party last Saturday, I was inspired to make latkes from scratch for the first time. So on Monday, we invited over my in-laws and my brother-in-law and his wife for dinner. I made my favorite brisket (in the slow cooker, with just a chopped onion, a beef bullion cube, a packet of Lipton's onion mix, and a little water) and these latkes, shown here frying up in a pool of peanut oil. All it took was 5 potatoes (shredded -- thank heaven for the food processor), one onion (shredded -- ditto), four eggs, about 1/3 cup of matzo meal (probably more), and salt and pepper to taste. For me, the secret was frying in peanut oil and gently flipping the latkes using two forks, not a spatula. They were so delicious --- AND I impressed my mother-in-law! I think I'll be making these at every opportunity!

This Just In... Vegan Scrubbing Cream

We have a new product in the store: Vegan Scrubbing Cream. Our scrubbing cream is a cream soap, made from scratch with coconut oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, and vitamin E, then mixed with apricot seeds to make a gentle and cleansing scrub.

Right now, our Vegan Scrubbing Cream is available in gift sets with Vegan Body Wash and Vegan Body Lotion. Just in time for the holidays! :)

Well... that was a bummer.

A few weeks ago, I wiped out -- no, really, I launched through the air after tripping over my own feet... in NY Penn Station... during rush hour -- and landed on my knees and right elbow, resulting in a fractured left kneecap, though it could have been much worse. I had to wear a straight-leg brace for a month, then take it easy for a month after that. For such a small injury, it sure destroyed the rest of my body, including my lower back. Needless to say, soapmaking wasn't on the top of my list for a while. But I have learned about the importance and joy of having fully-working joints, and I'm (pretty much) healed. It's good to be back!

We've moved!

Little Owl Soap has a new home in Metuchen, New Jersey. That's right, my husband and I are now homeowners, and we've had a busy three weeks. First, we packed. Then Dave, a recent law school graduate, sat for the New York and New Jersey bar exams. Next, we closed on the house and moved. (Somehow, we managed to fill an entire house with the belongings we had crammed into a one bedroom apartment.) Finally, we unpacked, my parents came to visit (and help do a little painting around the house), and my husband and I celebrated our first anniversary. Phew! Our Etsy shop has been closed while we were busy, but we recently re-opened, and I look forward to getting settled in the house, setting up my soapmaking "laboratory," and experimenting with new products, recipes, and scents. Stay tuned!

Fruit Fly Pie -- One of My Favorite Things

It's no secret that I have an "owl addiction." And nothing goes better with an owl addiction than an "owl tchotchke" collection. For this, I've turned to Wendy at Fruit Fly Pie, one of my favorite Etsy sellers. All of Wendy's ceramics are made from scratch, then hand painted in her home studio. She makes all of her products from either throwing on the potters wheel, slab building, or slip cast from vintage ceramic molds. Not only does Fruit Fly Pie offer a wondrous collection of owl items (though Wendy's heart belongs to her two potbellied pigs), there are also plenty of other darling items, like a cookie jar shaped like a pretty pink cupcake and a vintage-design pig that can do double-duty as a planter and a sink sponge holder. Stop by the shop, and you'll be inspired to start your own collection!

Heat Wave

We are experiencing a massive heat wave here on the East Coast. In fact, it is after 10:00 p.m. and it is still 90 degrees! We've got 102 degrees to look forward to tomorrow. Yikes! And all I really want to do in the whole entire world is make some cream soap. I love cream soap because it's not a liquid soap and it's not a solid. It's this amazing mix of both and, for an amateur chemistry junkie like me, making this soap is one of the most fascinating processes to watch. The process, however, requires cooking the soap in a large double boiler for about three hours, and that does not sound like the greatest idea right now. On a regular day, the process steams up our entire apartment! So for now, I can only dream about soap. Soon, though, I hope to get more cream soap cookin' -- and maybe even mix in some ground apricot seeds for a double-duty body scrub.