My girls and I went to my parents’ house this week while my husband had to stay home and work. We had a fabulous time playing outside, bringing our lunches to my dad’s work site, shopping for Easter clothes, going to the park (they still have merry-go-rounds in my hometown, believe it or not!), getting ice cream, reading lots of books, watching KU win again, watching a Jane Austen movie, making cookies, catching box elder bugs, and sleeping in! My grandma and my mom’s sister even came over for about an hour to visit.

When we came home yesterday, I found three boxes waiting for me! The first one was full of Dead Sea mud that I had ordered before we left – no big surprise. The other two were my prizes from blog giveaways that I had completely forgotten about – yeah for surprises! One was from Honey Bee Soaps. Stephanie gives away a prize every Wednesday for comments on her Wordless Wednesday posts. Let me tell you, this was no small prize!

All of the Honey Bee Soaps products are made with essential oils. The lotion is called Essence of Love – scented with lavender, patchouli, juniper berry, and clary sage essential oils. It smells very green and herbal to me, and just strong enough to be present without being overbearing. The soaps are all wonderful too: Lavender, Calendula, Rose, and Lemongrass. I was impressed to find out that Stephanie makes her own herbal infusions for her soaps and lotions. The peppermint lip butter slides on nicely – not all beeswax lip balms do – with a slight tingle of peppermint on the lips.

My second prize came from the Katydid and Kid blog. I won the PartyLite giveaway – which was clearly an amazing win, since there were 208 comments on this blog post! My prize included a gorgeous Lotus Scroll Centerpiece with three clear glass votive holders, plus a dozen vanilla creme votives and a dozen black raspberry tea lights – yum! See how gorgeous it is:

About the Dead Sea mud – my former supplier hasn’t been able to re-stock, so I finally found a suitable replacement. I tried some out last night on my face, and it was wonderful!!! I am very excited to be able to get the Dead Sea Mud Facial Masks back in stock (hopefully this week), along with the Jojoba-Shea Lotions!